THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


THE  LIFE  OF  LUD\MG  VAN  BEETHOVEN 

VOLUME  I 


The  Life  of 

Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

By  Alexander  Wheelock  Thayer 

Edited,  revised  and  amended  from  the  original 
English  manuscript  and  the  German  editions 
of  Hermann  Deiters  and  Hugo  Riemann,  con- 
cluded, and  all  the  documents  newly  translated 

By 

Henry  Edward  Krehbiel 


Volume  I 


Published  by 

The  Beethoven  Association 
New  York 


SECOND  PRINTING 


Copyright,  1921, 
By  Henry  Edward  Krehbiel 


From  the  press  of  G.  Schirmer,  Inc.,  New  York 
Printed  in  the  U.  S.  A. 


Music 
Library 


c 


IN  PROFOUND  REVERENCE  THIS  WORK 
IS  DEDICATED  BY  THE  EDITOR 

To  THE  Memory  of 

^exanber  SiOljeelocfe  ^fjaper  anti  l^r.  I^ermann  JSeiterjf 

ALSO  IN  GRATEFUL  APPRECIATION 
TO 

THE  BEETHOVEN  ASSOCIATION 

AND  WITH  A  Lu\RGE  MEASURE  OF  GRATITUDE  AND  AFFECTION 
TO  HIS  FRIEND  AND  COLLEAGUE 

RICHARD  ALDRICH 


raiVERS/Ty  OF  CALIFORNIA 
LOS  ANGELES 


.  r^  jr>  r> 


Introduction 


IF  for  no  other  reasons  than  because  of  the  long  time  and 
monumental   patience   expended  upon  its   preparation,  the 

vicissitudes  through  which  it  has  passed  and  the  varied  and 
arduous  labors  bestowed  upon  it  by  the  author  and  his  editors, 
the  history  of  Alexander  Wheelock  Thayer's  Life  of  Beethoven 
deserves  to  be  set  forth  as  an  introduction  to  this  work.  His 
work  it  is,  and  his  monument,  though  others  have  labored  long 
and  painstakingly  upon  it.  There  has  been  no  considerable  time 
since  the  middle  of  the  last  century  when  it  has  not  occupied  the 
minds  of  the  author  and  those  who  have  been  associated  with 
him  in  its  creation.  Between  the  conception  of  its  plan  and  its 
execution  there  lies  a  period  of  more  than  two  generations.  Four 
men  have  labored  zealously  and  affectionately  upon  its  pages,  and 
the  fruits  of  more  than  four  score  men,  stimulated  to  investigation 
by  the  first  rev^elations  made  by  the  author,  have  been  conserved 
in  the  ultimate  form  of  the  biography.  It  was  seventeen  years 
after  Mr.  Thayer  entered  upon  what  proved  to  be  his  life-task 
before  he  gave  the  first  volume  to  the  world — and  then  in  a  foreign 
tongue;  it  was  thirteen  more  before  the  third  volume  came  from 
the  press.  This  volume,  moreover,  left  the  work  unfinished,  and 
thirty-two  years  more  had  to  elapse  before  it  was  com])leted. 
When  this  was  done  the  patient  and  self-sacrificing  investigator 
was  dead;  he  did  not  live  to  finish  it  himself  nor  to  see  it  finished 
by  his  faithful  c()lial)orator  of  many  years,  Dr.  Deiters;  neither 
did  he  live  to  look  upon  a  single  printed  page  in  the  language  in 
which  he  had  written  that  portion  of  the  work  published  in  his 
lifetime.  It  was  left  for  another  hand  to  prepare  the  English 
edition  of  an  American  writer's  history  of  Germany's  greatest 
tone-poet,  and  to  write  its  concluding  chapters,  as  he  believes, 
in  the  spirit  of  the  original  author. 

Under  these  circumstances  there  can  be  no  vainglory  in  as- 
serting that  the  appearance  of  this  edition  of  Thayer's  Life  of 
Beethoven  deserves  to  be  set  down  as  a  significant  occurrence 

[vii] 


viii  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

in  musical  history.  In  it  is  told  for  the  first  time  in  the  language 
of  the  great  biographer  the  true  story  of  the  man  Beethoven — 
his  history  stripped  of  the  silly  sentimental  romance  with  which 
early  writers  and  their  later  imitators  and  copyists  invested  it  so 
thickly  that  the  real  humanity,  the  humanliness,  of  the  composer 
has  never  been  presented  to  the  world.  In  this  biography  there 
appears  the  veritable  Beethoven  set  down  in  his  true  environ- 
ment of  men  and  things — the  man  as  he  actually  was,  the  man  as 
he  himself,  like  Cromwell,  asked  to  be  shown  for  the  information 
of  posterity.  It  is  doubtful  if  any  other  great  man's  history 
has  been  so  encrusted  with  fiction  as  Beethoven's.  Except 
Thayer's,  no  biography  of  him  has  been  written  which  presents 
him  in  his  true  light.  The  majority  of  the  books  which  have 
been  written  of  late  years  repeat  many  of  the  errors  and  false- 
hoods made  current  in  the  first  books  which  were  written  about 
him.  A  great  many  of  these  errors  and  falsehoods  are  in  the 
account  of  the  composer's  last  sickness  and  death,  and  were  either 
inventions  or  exaggerations  designed  by  their  utterers  to  add 
pathos  to  a  narrative  which  in  unadorned  truth  is  a  hundred- 
fold more  pathetic  than  any  tale  of  fiction  could  possibly  be. 
Other  errors  have  concealed  the  truth  in  the  story  of  Beethoven's 
guardianship  of  his  nephew,  his  relations  with  his  brothers,  the 
origin  and  nature  of  his  fatal  illness,  his  dealings  with  his  pub- 
lishers and  patrons,  the  generous  attempt  of  the  Philharmonic 
Society  of  Ix)ndon  to  extend  help  to  hira  when  upon  his  deathbed. 
In  many  details  the  story  of  Beethoven's  life  as  told  here 
will  be  new  to  English  and  American  readers;  in  a  few  cases  the 
details  will  be  new  to  the  world,  for  the  English  edition  of  Thayer's 
biography  is  not  a  translation  of  the  German  work  but  a  presen- 
tation of  the  original  manuscript,  so  far  as  the  discoveries  made 
after  the  writing  did  not  mar  its  integrity,  supplemented  by  the 
knowledge  acquired  since  the  publication  of  the  first  German 
edition,  and  placed  at  the  service  of  the  present  editor  by  the 
German  revisers  of  the  second  edition.  The  editor  of  this  English 
edition  was  not  only  in  communication  with  Mr.  Thayer  during 
the  last  ten  years  of  his  life,  but  was  also  associated  to  some  ex- 
tent with  his  continuator  and  translator,  Dr.  Deiters.  Not  only 
the  fruits  of  the  labors  of  the  German  editors  but  the  original  manu- 
script of  Thayer  and  the  mass  of  material  which  he  accumulated 
came  into  the  hands  of  this  writer,  and  they  form  the  foundation 
on  which  the  English  "Thayer's  Beethoven"  rests.  The  work 
is  a  vastly  different  one  from  that  which  Thayer  dreamed  of  when 
he  first  conceived  the  idea  of  bringing  order  and  consistency  into 


Introduction  ix 

the  fragmentary  and  highly  colored  accounts  of  the  composer's 
hfe  upon  which  he  fed  his  mind  and  fancy  as  a  student  at 
college;  but  it  is,  even  in  that  part  of  the  story  which  he  did  not 
write,  true  to  the  conception  of  what  Beethoven's  biography 
should  be.  Knowledge  of  the  composer's  life  has  greatly  in- 
creased since  the  time  when  Thayer  set  out  upon  his  task.  The 
first  publication  of  some  of  the  results  of  his  investigations  in 
his  "Chronologisches  Verzeichniss"  in  1865,  and  the  first  volume 
of  the  biography  which  appeared  a  year  later,  stirred  the  critical 
historians  into  activity  throughout  Europe.  For  them  he  had 
opened  up  a  hundred  avenues  of  research,  pointed  out  a  hundred 
subjects  for  special  study.  At  once  collectors  of  autographs 
brought  forth  their  treasures,  old  men  opened  up  the  books  of 
their  memories,  librarians  gave  eager  searchers  access  to  their 
shelves,  churches  produced  their  archives,  and  hieroglj'phic 
sketches  wliich  had  been  scattered  all  over  Europe  were  deciphered 
by  scholars  and  yielded  up  chronological  information  of  inesti- 
mable value.  To  all  these  activities  Thayer  had  pointed  the  way, 
and  thus  a  great  mass  of  facts  was  added  to  the  already  great 
mass  which  Thayer  had  accumulated.  Nor  did  Thayer's  labors 
in  the  field  end  with  the  first  publication  of  his  volumes.  So  long 
as  he  lived  he  gathered,  ordered  and  sifted  the  new  material 
which  came  under  his  observation  and  prepared  it  for  incorpora- 
tion into  later  editions  and  later  volumes.  After  he  was  dead 
his  editors  continued  the  work. 

Alexander  Wheelock  Thayer  was  born  in  South  Natick, 
Massachusetts,  on  October  22nd,  1817,  and  received  a  liberal 
education  at  Harvard  College,  whence  he  was  graduated  in  1843. 
He  probably  felt  that  he  was  cut  out  for  a  literary  career,  for  his 
first  work  after  graduation  was  done  in  the  library  of  his  Alma 
Mater.  There  interest  in  the  life  of  Beethoven  took  hold  of  him. 
With  the  plan  in  his  mind  of  writing  an  account  of  that  life  on 
the  basis  of  Schindler's  biograj)hy  as  paraplirased  by  Moscheles, 
and  bringing  its  statements  and  those  contained  in  the  "Biogra- 
phische  Notizen"  of  Wegeler  and  Ilies  and  a  few  English  accounts 
into  harmony,  he  went  to  Europe  in  1849  and  spent  two  years 
in  making  researches  in  Bonn,  Berlin,  Pnigue  and  Vienna.  He 
then  returned  to  America  and  in  1852  became  attached  to  the 
editorial  stuff  of  "The  New  York  Tribune."  It  was  in  a  double 
sense  an  attachment;  illness  comi)elIed  him  to  abandon  journalism 
and  sever  his  connection  with  the  newspaper  within  two  years, 
but  he  never  gave  up  his  interest  in  it.  He  read  it  until  the  day 
of  his  death,  and  his  acquaintance  with  the  member  of  the  Tribune's 


X  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

staff  who  was  destined  to  have  a  part  in  the  completion  of  his 
hfework  began  when,  a  little  more  than  a  generation  after  he 
had  gone  to  Europe  for  the  second  time,  he  opened  a  correspond- 
ence with  him  on  a  topic  suggested  by  one  of  this  writer's  criti- 
cisms. In  1854  he  went  to  Europe  again,  still  fired  with  the  ambi- 
tion to  rid  the  life-history  of  Beethoven  of  the  defects  which 
marred  it  as  told  in  the  current  books.  Schindler  had  sold  the 
memorabilia  which  he  had  received  from  Beethoven  and  Beet- 
hoven's friend  Stephan  von  Breuning  to  the  Prussian  Govern- 
ment, and  the  precious  documents  were  safely  housed  in  the 
Royal  Library  at  Berlin.  It  was  probably  in  studying  them 
that  Thayer  realized  fully  that  it  was  necessary  to  do  more  than 
rectify  and  harmonize  current  accounts  of  Beethoven's  life  if  it 
were  correctly  to  be  told.  He  had  already  unearthed  much 
precious  ore  at  Bonn,  but  he  lacked  the  money  which  alone  would 
enable  him  to  do  the  long  and  large  work  which  now  loomed  before 
him.  In  1856  he  again  came  back  to  America  and  sought  em- 
ployment, finding  it  this  time  in  South  Orange,  New  Jersey, 
where  Lowell  Mason  employed  him  to  catalogue  his  musical 
library.  Meanwhile  Dr.  Mason  had  become  interested  in  his 
great  project,  and  Mrs.  Mehetabel  Adams,  of  Cambridge,  Mas- 
sachusetts, also.  Together  they  provided  the  funds  which  enabled 
him  again  to  go  to  Europe,  where  he  now  took  up  a  permanent 
residence.  At  first  he  spent  his  time  in  research-travels,  visiting 
Berlin,  Bonn,  Cologne,  Dlisseldorf  (where  he  found  material  of 
great  value  in  the  archives  of  the  old  Electoral  Courts  of  Bonn 
and  Cologne),  Frankfort,  Paris,  Linz,  Graz,  Salzburg,  London 
and  Vienna.  To  support  himself  he  took  a  small  post  in  the 
Legation  of  the  United  States  at  Vienna,  but  exchanged  this 
after  a  space  for  the  U.  S.  Consulship  at  Trieste,  to  which  office 
he  was  appointed  by  President  Lincoln  on  the  recommendation 
of  Senator  Sumner.  In  Trieste  he  remained  till  his  death,  al- 
though out  of  office  after  October  1st,  1882.  To  Sir  George 
Grove  he  wrote  under  date  June  1st,  1895:  'T  was  compelled  to 
resign  my  office  because  of  utter  inaVjility  longer  to  continue 
Beethoven  work  and  official  labor  together."  From  Trieste, 
when  his  duties  permitted,  he  went  out  on  occasional  exploring 
tours,  and  there  he  weighed  his  accumulations  of  evidence  and 
wrote   his   volumes. 

In  his  travels  Thayer  visited  every  person  of  importance 
then  living  who  had  been  in  any  way  associated  with  Beethoven 
or  had  personal  recollection  of  him — Schindler,  the  composer's 
factotum  and  biographer;  Anselm  Hiittenbrenner,  in  whose  arms 


Introduction  xi 

he  died;  Caroline  van  Beethoven,  w^dow  of  Nephew  Karl;  Charles 
Neate  and  Cipriani  Potter,  the  English  musicians  who  had  been 
his  pupils;  Sir  George  Smart,  who  had  visited  him  to  learn  the 
proper  interpretation  of  the  Ninth  Symphony;  Moscheles,  who 
had  been  a  professional  associate  in  Vienna;  Otto  Jahn,  who  had 
undertaken  a  like  task  with  his  own,  but  abandoned  it  and  turned 
over  his  gathered  material  to  him;  Mahler,  an  artist  who  had 
painted  Beethoven's  portrait;  Gerhard  von  Breuning,  son  of 
Beethoven's  most  intimate  friend,  who  as  a  lad  of  fourteen  had 
been  a  cheery  companion  of  the  great  man  when  he  lay  upon  his 
fatal  bed  of  sickness; — with  all  these  and  many  others  he  talked, 
carefully  recording  their  testimony  in  his  note-books  and  piling 
up  information  with  which  to  test  the  correctness  of  traditions 
and  printed  accounts  and  to  amplify  the  veracious  story  of  Beet- 
hoven's life.  His  industry,  zeal,  keen  power  of  analysis,  candor 
and  fairmindedness  won  the  confidence  and  help  of  all  with  whom 
he  came  in  contact  except  the  literary  charlatans  whose  romances 
he  was  bent  on  destroying  in  the  interest  of  the  verities  of  histo^3^ 
The  Royal  Library  at  Berlin  sent  the  books  in  which  many  of 
Beethoven's  visitors  had  written  down  their  part  of  the  conver- 
sations which  the  composer  could  not  hear,  to  him  at  Trieste  so 
that  he  might  transcribe  and  study  them  at  his  leisure. 

In  1865,  Thayer  was  ready  with  the  manuscript  for  Volume  I 
of  the  work,  which  contained  a  sketch  of  the  Courts  of  the  Electors 
of  Cologne  at  Cologne  and  Bonn  for  over  a  century,  told  of  the 
music  cultivated  at  them  and  recorded  the  ancestry  of  Beethoven 
so  far  as  it  had  been  discovered.  It  also  carried  the  history  of 
the  composer  down  to  the  year  1796.  In  Bonn,  Thayer  had  made 
the  acquaintance  of  Dr.  Hermann  Deiters,  Court  Councillor  and 
enthusiastic  musical  litterateur,  and  to  him  he  confided  the  task 
of  editing  and  revising  his  manuscript  and  translating  it  into 
German.  Tlie  reason  which  Thayer  gave  for  not  at  once  publish- 
ing his  work  in  Engiisli  was  that  he  was  unable  to  oversee  the 
printing  in  liis  native  land,  where,  moreover,  it  was  not  the  custom 
to  publish  such  works  serially.  He  urged  upon  his  collaborator 
that  he  practise  literalness  of  translation  in  respect  of  his  own 
utterances,  but  gave  him  full  liberty  to  proceed  according  to  his 
judgment  in  the  presentation  of  documentary  evidence.  All 
of  the  material  in  tlie  volume  except  the  draughts  from  Wegeler, 
Ries  and  Schindler,  with  which  he  was  frequently  in  conflict, 
was  original  discovery,  the  result  of  the  labors  begun  in  Bonn  in 
1849.  His  principles  he  set  forth  in  these  words:  "I  fight  for  no 
theories,  and  cherish  no  prejudices;  my  sole  point  of  view  is  the 


xii  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

truth I   have   resisted   the   temptation   to   discuss   the 

cliaracter  of  his  (Beethoven's)  works  and  to  make  such  a  discussion 
the  foundation  of  historical  speculation,  preferring  to  leave  such 
matters  to  those  who  have  a  greater  predilection  for  them.  It 
appears  to  me  that  Beethoven  the  composer  is  amply  known 
through  his  works  and  in  this  assumption  the  long  and  wearisome 
labors  of  so  many  years  were  devoted  to  Beethoven  the  man." 
The  plan  to  publish  his  work  in  German  enabled  Thayer  to  turn 
over  all  his  documentary  evidence  to  Deiters  in  its  original  shape, 
a  circumstance  which  saved  him  great  labor,  but  left  it  for  his 
American  editor  and  continuator.  The  first  German  volume 
appeared  in  1866;  its  stimulative  effect  upon  musical  Europe  has 
been  indicated.  Volume  II  came  from  the  press  in  1872,  Volume 
III  in  1879,  both  translated  and  annotated  by  Deiters.  They 
brought  the  story  of  Beethoven's  life  down  to  the  end  of  the 
year  1816,  leaving  a  little  more  than  a  decade  still  to  be  discussed. 
The  health  of  Thayer  had  never  been  robust,  and  the  long 
and  unintermittent  application  to  the  work  of  gathering  and 
weighing  evidence  had  greatly  taxed  his  brain.  He  became  sub- 
ject to  severe  headaches  and  after  the  appearance  of  the  third 
volume  he  found  it  impossible  to  apply  himself  for  even  a  short 
time  to  work  upon  the  biography.  In  July,  1890,  he  wrote  a 
letter  to  Sir  George  Grove  which  the  latter  forwarded  to  this 
writer.  In  it  he  tells  in  words  of  pathetic  gratitude  of  the  unex- 
pected honors  showered  upon  him  at  Bonn  when  at  the  invitation 
of  the  Beethoven-Haus  Verein  he  attended  the  exhibition  and 
festival  given  in  Beethoven's  birthplace  a  short  time  before. 
Then  he  proceeds:  "Of  course  the  great  question  was  on  the  lips 
of  all:  When  will  the  fourth  volume  appear .^^  I  could  only  say: 
^yhen  the  condition  of  my  head  allows  it.  No  one  could  see  or 
have  from  my  general  appearance  the  least  suspicion  that  I  was 
not  in  mental  equal  to  my  physical  vigor.  In  fact,  the  extreme 
excitement  of  these  three  weeks  took  off  for  the  time  twenty  years 
of  my  age  and  made  me  young  again;  but  afterwards  in  Hamburg 
and  in  Berlin  the  reaction  came.  Spite  of  the  delightful  musical 
parties  at  Joachim's,  Hausmann's,  Mendelssohn's  ....  my 
head  broke  down  more  and  more,  and  since  my  return  hither, 
July  3rd,  has  as  yet  shown  small  signs  of  recuperation.  The 
extreme  importance  of  working  out  my  fourth  volume  is  more 
than  ever  impressed  upon  my  mind  and  weighs  upon  me  like  an 
incubus.  But  as  yet  it  is  still  utterly  impossible  for  me  to  really 
work.  Of  course  I  only  live  for  that  great  purpose  and  do  not 
despair.     My  general  health  is  such  that  I  think  the  brain  must 


Introduction  xiii 

in  time  recover  something  of  its  vigor  and  power  of  labor.  What 
astonishes  me  and  almost  creates  envy  is  to  see  this  wonderful 
power  of  labor  as  exemplified  bj'  you  and  my  neighbor.  Burton. 
But  from  boyhood  I  have  had  head  troubles,  and  what  I  went 
through  with  for  thirty  years  in  supporting  myself  and  working 
on  Beethoven  is  not  to  be  described  and  excites  my  wonder  that 
I  did  not  succumb.  Well,  I  will  not  yet  despair."  Thayer's 
mind,  active  enough  in  some  things,  refused  to  occupy  itself  with 
the  Beethoven  material;  it  needed  distraction,  and  to  give  it  that 
he  turned  to  literary  work  of  another  character.  He  wrote  a  book 
against  the  Baconian  authorship  of  Shakespeare's  works;  another 
on  the  Hebrews  in  Egypt  and  their  Exodus  (which  Mr.  E.  S. 
Willcox,  a  friend  of  many  years,  published  at  his  request  in  Peoria, 
Illinois).  He  also  wrote  essays  and  children's  tales.  Such 
writing  he  could  do  and  also  attend  to  his  consular  duties;  but  an 
hour  or  two  of  thought  devoted  to  Beethoven,  as  he  said  in  a 
letter  to  the  present  writer,  brought  on  a  racking  headache  and 
unfitted   him   for   labor  of   any   kind. 

Meanwhile  year  after  year  passed  by  and  the  final  volume  of 
the  biography  was  no  nearer  its  completion  than  in  1880.  In  fact, 
})eyond  the  selection  and  ordination  of  its  material,  it  was  scarcely 
begun.  His  friends  and  the  lovers  of  Beethoven  the  world  over 
grew  seriously  concerned  at  the  prospect  that  it  would  never  be 
completed.  Sharing  in  this  concern,  the  editor  of  the  present 
edition  developed  a  plan  which  he  thought  would  enable  Thayer 
to  complete  the  work  notwithstanding  the  disabilities  under 
which  Jie  was  laboring.  He  asked  the  cooperation  of  Novello, 
Ewer  &  Co.,  of  London,  and  got  them  to  promise  to  send  a  cap- 
able person  to  Trieste  to  act  as  a  sort  of  literary  secretary  to 
Thayer.  It  was  thought  that,  having  all  the  material  for  the  con- 
cluding volume  on  hand  chronologically  arranged,  he  might  talk 
it  over  with  the  secretary,  but  without  giving  care  to  the  manner 
of  literary  presentation.  The  secretary  was  then  to  give  the 
material  a  proper  setting  and  submit  it  to  Thayer  for  leisurely 
revision.  Very  hopefully,  and  with  feelings  of  deep  gratitude  to 
his  friends,  the  English  publishers,  tlie  American  editor  submitted 
his  j)lan;  but  Thayer  would  have  none  of  it.  Though  unable  to 
work  ui)on  the  biography  for  an  hour  continuously,  he  yet  clung 
to  the  notion  that  some  day  he  would  not  only  finish  it  but  also 
rewrite  the  whole  for  English  and  American  readers.  From  one 
of  the  letters  placed  at  my  disposal  })y  Sir  George  Grove,  it  appears 
that  subsequently  (in  1892)  there  was  some  correspondence  be- 
tween an  English  publisher  and  Mr.  Thayer  touching  an  English 


xiv  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

edition.  The  letter  was  written  to  Sir  George  on  June  1st,  1895. 
In  it  he  says:  "I  then  hoped  to  be  able  to  revise  and  prepare  it 
(the  Beethoven  MS.)  for  pubhcation  myself,  and  was  able  to  begin 
the  labor  and  arrange  with  a  typewriting  woman  to  make  the 
clean  copy.  How  sadly  I  failed  I  wrote  you.  Since  that  time 
the  subject  has  not  been  renewed  between  us.  I  am  now  com- 
pelled to  rehnquish  all  hope  of  ever  being  able  to  do  the  work. 
There  are  two  great  difficulties  to  be  overcome:  the  one  is  that 
all  letters  and  citations  are  in  the  original  German  as  they  were 
sent  to  Dr.  Deiters;  the  other,  there  is  much  to  be  condensed,  as 
I  always  intended  should  be  for  this  reason:  From  the  very  first 
chapter  to  the  end  of  Vol.  Ill,  I  am  continually  in  conflict  with 
all  previous  writers  and  was  compelled,  therefore,  to  show  in  my 
text  that  I  was  right  by  so  using  my  materials  that  the  reader 
should  be  taken  along  step  by  step  and  compelled  to  see  the  truth 
for  himself.  Had  all  my  arguments  been  given  in  notes  nine 
readers  out  of  ten  would  hardly  have  read  them,  and  I  should  have 
been  involved  in  numberless  and  endless  controversies.  Now 
the  case  is  changed.  A.  W.  T's  novelties  are  now,  with  few  if 
any  exceptions,  accepted  as  facts  and  can,  in  the  English  edition, 
be  used  as  such.  Besides  this,  there  is  much  new  matter  to  be 
inserted  and  some  corrections  to  be  made  from  the  appendices 
of  the  three  German  volumes.  The  prospect  now  is  that  I  may 
be  able  to  do  some  of  this  work,  or,  at  all  events,  go  through  my 
MS.  page  by  page  and  do  much  to  facilitate  its  preparation  for 
publication  in  English.  I  have  no  expectation  of  ever  receiving 
any  pecuniary  recompense  for  my  40  years  of  labor,  for  my  many 
years  of  poverty  arising  from  the  costs  of  my  extensive  researches, 
for  my — but  enough  of  this  also."  In  explanation  of  the  final 
sentence  in  this  letter  it  may  be  added  that  Thayer  told  the  present 
writer  that  he  had  never  received  a  penny  from  his  publisher  for 
the  three  German  volumes;  nothing  more,  in  fact,  than  a  few 
books  which  he  had  ordered  and  for  which  the  publisher  made  no 
charge. 

Thus  matters  rested  when  Thayer  died  on  July  15th,  1897. 
The  thought  that  the  fruits  of  his  labor  and  great  sacrifices  should 
be  lost  to  the  world  even  in  part  was  intolerable.  Dr.  Deiters, 
with  undiminished  zeal  and  enthusiasm,  announced  his  willing- 
ness to  revise  the  three  published  volumes  for  a  second  edition 
and  write  the  concluding  volume.  Meanwhile  all  of  Thayer's 
papers  had  been  sent  to  Mrs.  Jabez  Fox  of  Cambridge,  Massachu- 
setts, the  author's  niece  and  one  of  his  heirs.  There  was  a  large 
mass  of  material,  and  it  became  necessary  to  sift  it  in  order  that 


Introduction  xv 

all  that  was  needful  for  the  work  of  revision  and  completion  might 
be  placed  in  the  hands  of  Dr.  Deiters.  This  work  was  done,  at 
Mrs.  Fox's  request,  by  the  present  writer,  who,  also  at  Mrs.  Fox's 
request,  undertook  the  task  of  preparing  this  English  edition. 
Dr.  Deiters  accomplished  the  work  of  revising  Volume  I,  which 
was  published  by  Weber,  the  original  publisher  of  the  German 
volumes,  in  1891.  He  then  decided  that  before  taking  up  the 
revision  of  Volumes  II  and  III  he  would  bring  the  biography  to  a 
conclusion.  He  wrote,  not  the  one  volume  which  Thayer  had 
hoped  would  suffice  him,  but  two  volumes,  the  mass  of  material 
bearing  on  the  last  decade  of  Beethoven's  life  having  grown  so 
large  that  it  could  not  conveniently  be  comprehended  in  a  single 
tome,  especially  since  Dr.  Deiters  had  determined  to  incorporate 
critical  discussions  of  the  composer's  principal  works  in  the  new 
edition.  The  advance  sheets  of  Volume  IV  were  in  Dr.  Deiters's 
hands  when,  full  of  3'ears  and  honors,  he  died  on  May  1st,  1907. 
Breitkopf  and  Hartel  had  meanwhile  purchased  the  German 
copyright  from  Weber,  and  they  chose  Dr.  Hugo  Riemann  to 
complete  the  work  of  revision.  Under  Dr.  Riemann's  supervision 
Volumes  IV  and  V  were  brought  out  in  1908,  and  Volumes  II  and 
III  in    1910-1911. 

Not  until  this  had  been  accomplished  could  the  American 
collaborator  go  systematically  to  work  on  his  difficult  and  volumi- 
nous task,  for  he  had  determined  to  use  as  much  as  possible  of 
Thayer's  original  manuscript  and  adhere  to  Thayer's  original 
purpose  and  that  expressed  in  his  letter  to  Sir  George  Grove.  He 
also  thought  it  wise  to  condense  the  work  so  as  to  bring  it  within 
three  volumes  and  to  seek  to  enhance  its  readableness  in  other  ways. 
To  this  end  he  abolished  the  many  appendices  which  swell  the 
Gennan  volumes,  and  put  their  significant  portions  into  the  body 
of  the  narrative;  he  omitted  many  of  the  hundreds  of  foot-notes, 
especially  the  references  to  the  works  of  the  earlier  biographers, 
believing  that  the  special  student  would  easily  find  the  sources 
if  he  wished  to  do  so,  and  the  general  reader  would  not  care  to 
verify  the  statements  of  one  who  has  been  accej)ted  as  the  court  of 
last  resort  in  all  matters  of  fact  pertaining  to  Beethoven,  the  man; 
he  also  omitted  many  letters  and  presented  the  substance  of  others 
in  his  own  words  for  the  reason  that  they  can  all  l)e  consulted  in  the 
special  volumes  which  contain  the  composer's  correspondence;  of 
the  letters  and  other  documents  used  in  the  pages  which  follow, 
he  made  translations  for  the  sake  of  accuracy  as  well  as  to  avoid 
conflict  with  the  copyright  privileges  of  the  publishers  of  English 
versions.     Being  as  free  as  the  German  editors  in  respect  of  the 


xvi  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

portion  of  the  biography  which  did  not  come  directly  from  the 
pen  of  Thayer,  the  editor  of  this  EngHsh  edition  chose  his  own 
method  of  presentation  touching  the  story  of  the  last  decade  of 
Beethoven's  life,  keeping  in  view  the  greater  clearness  and  rapidity 
of  narrative  which,  he  believed,  would  result  from  a  grouping 
of  material  different  from  that  followed  by  the  German  editors  in 
their  adherence  to  the  strict  chronological  method  established  by 
Thayer. 

A  large  number  of  variations  from  the  text  of  the  original 
German  edition  are  explained  in  the  body  of  this  work  or  in  foot- 
notes. In  cases  where  the  German  editors  were  found  to  be  in 
disagreement  with  the  English  manuscript  in  matters  of  opinion 
merely,  the  editor  has  chosen  to  let  Mr.  Thayer's  arguments  stand, 
though,  as  a  rule,  he  has  noted  the  adverse  opinions  of  the  German 
revisers  also.  A  prominent  instance  of  this  kind  is  presented  by 
the  mysterious  love-letter  found  secreted  in  Beethoven's  desk 
after  his  death.  Though  a  considerable  literature  has  grown  up 
around  the  "Immortal  Beloved"  since  Thayer  advanced  the  hy- 
pothesis that  the  lady  was  the  Countess  Therese  Brunswick,  the 
question  touching  her  identity  and  the  dates  of  the  letters  is 
still  as  much  an  open  one  as  it  was  when  Thayer,  in  his  charac- 
teristic manner,  subjected  it  to  examination.  This  editor  has, 
therefore,  permitted  Thayer  not  only  to  present  his  case  in  his 
own  words,  but  helped  him  by  bringing  his  scattered  pleadings 
and  briefs  into  sequence.  He  has  also  outlined  in  part  the  dis- 
cussion which  followed  the  promulgation  of  Thayer's  theory,  and 
advanced  a  few  fugitive  reflections  of  his  own.  The  related  inci- 
dent of  Beethoven's  vain  matrimonial  project  has  been  put  into 
a  different  category  by  new  evidence  which  came  to  light  while 
Dr.  Riemann  was  engaged  in  his  revisory  work.  It  became  neces- 
sary, therefore,  that  the  date  of  that  incident  be  changed  from 
1807,  where  Thayer  had  put  it,  to  1810.  By  this  important 
change  Beethoven's  relations  to  Therese  Malfatti  were  made  to 
take  on  a  more  serious  attitude  than  Thayer  was  willing  to  accord 
them. 

In  this  edition,  finally,  more  importance  is  attached  to  the 
so-called  Fischer  Manuscript  than  Thayer  was  inclined  to  give  it, 
although  he,  somewhat  grudgingly  we  fear,  consented  that  Dr. 
Deiters  should  print  it  with  critical  comments  in  the  Appendix  of 
his  Vol.  I.  The  manuscript,  though  known  to  Thayer,  had  come  to 
the  attention  of  Dr.  Deiters  too  late  for  use  in  the  narrative  por- 
tion of  the  volume,  though  it  was  thus  used  in  the  second  edition. 
The  story  of  the  manuscript,  which  is  now  preserved  in  the  museum 


Introduction  xvii 

of  the  Beethoven-Haus  Verein  in  Bonn,  is  a  curious  one.  Its  author 
was  Gottfried  Fischer,  whose  ancestors  for  four  generations  had 
lived  in  the  house  in  the  Rheingasse  which  only  a  few  years  ago 
was  still,  though  mendaciously,  pointed  out  to  strangers  as  the 
house  in  which  Beethoven  was  born.  Fischer,  who  lived  till 
1864,  was  born  in  the  house  which  formerly  stood  on  the  site  of 
the  present  building  known  as  No.  934,  ten  years  after  Beethoven's 
eyes  opened  to  the  light  in  the  Bonngasse.  At  the  time  of  Fischer's 
birth  the  Beethoven  family  occupied  a  portion  of  the  house  and 
Fischer's  father  and  the  composer's  father  were  friends  and  com- 
panions. There,  too,  had  lived  the  composer's  grandfather.  Gott- 
fried Fischer  had  a  sister,  Cacilia  Fischer,  who  was  born  eight 
years  before  Beethoven;  she  remained  unmarried  and  lived  to  be 
85  years  old,  dying  on  May  23rd,  1845.  The  festivities  attending 
the  unveiling  of  the  Beethoven  monument  in  1838  brought  many 
visitors  to  Bonn  and  a  natural  curiosity  concerning  the  relics  of 
the  composer.  Inquirers  were  referred  to  the  house  in  the  Rhein- 
gasse, then  supposed  to  be  the  birthplace  of  the  composer,  where 
the  Fischers,  brother  and  sister,  still  lived.  They  told  their  story 
and  were  urged  by  eager  listeners  to  put  it  into  writing.  This  Gott- 
fried did  the  same  year,  but,  keeping  the  manuscript  in  hand,  he 
added  to  it  at  intervals  down  to  the  year  1857  at  least.  He  came  to 
attach  great  value  to  his  revelations  and  as  time  went  on  embel- 
lished his  recital  with  a  mass  of  notes,  many  of  no  value,  many 
consisting  of  iterations  and  reiterations  of  incidents  already  re- 
corded, and  also  with  excerpts  from  books  to  which,  in  his  sim- 
plicity, he  thought  that  nobody  but  himself  had  access.  He  was 
an  uneducated  man,  ignorant  even  of  the  correct  use  of  the  German 
language;  it  is,  therefore,  not  surprising  that  much  of  his  record  is 
utterly  worthless;  but  mixed  with  the  dross  there  is  much  precious 
metal,  especially  in  the  spinster's  recollection  of  the  composer's 
father  and  grandfather,  for  while  Gottfried  grew  senile  his  sister 
remained  mentally  vigorous  to  the  end.  Thayer  examined  the 
document  and  offered  to  buy  it,  but  was  dissuaded  by  the  seem- 
ingly exorbitant  price  which  the  old  man  set  upon  it.  It  was 
finally  purchased  for  the  city's  archives  by  the  Oberbiirgermeister 
and  thus  came  to  the  notice  of  Dr.  Deiters.  His  use  of  it  has  been 
followed  by  the  present  editor. 

Henry  Edward  Kreiibiel. 

Blue  Hill,  Maine,  U.  S.  A. 
July,  1914. 


xviii  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

Postscript 

The  breaking  out,  in  August,  1914,  of  the  war  between  Austria 
and  Servia  which  eventually  involved  nearly  all  the  civilized 
nations  of  the  world,  led  the  publishers,  who  had  originally  under- 
taken to  print  this  Work  as  brought  to  a  conclusion  by  the  Amer- 
ican Editor,  indefinitely  to  postpone  its  publication.  In  the  spring 
of  1920  the  Beethoven  Association,  composed  of  musicians  of 
high  rank,  who  had  given  a  remarkably  successful  series  of  con- 
certs of  Beethoven's  chamber-music  in  New  York  in  the  season 
1919-20,  at  the  suggestion  of  O.  G.  Sonneck  and  Harold  Bauer 
resolved  to  devote  the  proceeds  of  the  concerts  to  promoting 
the  publication  of  Thayer's  biography.  To  this  act  of  artistic 
philanthropy  the  appearance  of  the  work  is  due. 

Blue  Hill,  Maine,  U.  S.  A.  H.  E.  K. 

September,  1920. 


Contents  of  Volume  I 

PAGE 

Introduction  vii 

Chapter  I.  Fall  of  the  Ecclesiastical-Civil  States  in 
Germany — Character  of  Their  Rulers — The  Electors 
of  Cologne  in  the  Eighteenth  Century — Joseph  Cle- 
mens— Clemens  August — Max  Friedrich — Incidents  and 
Achievements  in  Their  Reigns — The  Electoral  Courts 
and  Their  Music — Earliest  Records  of  the  Beethovens 
in  the  Rhineland — Musical  ^.Culture  in  Bonn  at  the 
Time  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven's  Birth — Operatic 
Repertories — Christian  Gottlob  Neefe — Appearance  of 
the  City  1 

Chapter  II.  Beethoven's  Ancestors  in  Belgium — Louis 
van  Beethoven,  His  Grandfather — He  Leaves  His  Pater- 
nal Home — Tenor  Singer  at  Louvain — His  Removal  to 
Bonn — Marriage — Activities  as  J]»^<i  J^i'ng-f^r  >^nd  rhnppl- 
master  in  the  Eloctoml  C]i;i.pf'l — Birth  and  Education 
of  Johann  van  Beethoven,  Father  of  the  Composer — 
Domestic  Afflictions — His  Marriage — Appearance  and 
Character  of  the  Composer's  Mother  42 

Chapter  IH.  Birth  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven,  the  Com- 
poser— Conflict  of  Dates — The  House  in  Which  He 
Was  Born — Poverty  of  the  Family — An  Inebriate 
Grandmother  and  a  Dissipated  Father — The  Com- 
poser's Scant  Schooling — His  First  Music  Teachers — 
Lessons  on  the  Pianoforte,  Organ  and  Violin — Neefe 
Instructs  Him  in  Composition — A  Visit  to  Holland  53 

Chapter  IV.  Beethoven  a  Pupil  of  Neefe — Early  Employ- 
ment of  His  Talent  and  Skill — First  Efforts  at  Com- 
position— Assists  Neefe  at  the  Organ  in  the  Orchestra 
of  the  Electoral  Court — Is  Appointed  Assistant  Court 
Organist — Johann  van  Beethoven's  Family — Domestic 
Tribulations — Youthful  Publications  67 

[  xix  ] 


XX  Contents  of  Volume  I 

Chapter  V,  Elector  Max  Franz — Appearance  and  Char- 
acter of  Maria  Theresias's  Youngest  Son — His  Career 
in  Church  and  State — Musical  Culture  in  the  Austrian 
Imperial  Family — The  Elector's  Admiration  for  Mozart 
and  Mozart's  Characterization  of  Him — His  Court 
Music  at  Bonn  77 

Chapter  VI.  Beethoven  Again — His  Studies  Interrupted 
— A  Period  of  Artistic  Inactivity  in  Bonn — The  Young 
Organist  Indulges  in  a  Prank — A  Visit  to  Vienna — 
Mozart  Hears  the  Youthful  Beethoven  Play — Sym- 
pathethic  Acquaintances — Death  of  Beethoven's  Mother 
— Association  with  the  von  Breuning  Family — Some 
Questions  of  Chronology  Discussed  85 

Chapter  VII.  The  Family  von  Breuning — Beethoven 
Brought  Under  Refining  Influences — Count  Waldstein — 
Beethoven's  First  Maecenas — Time  of  the  Count's 
Arrival  in  Bonn — Beethoven  Forced  to  Become  Head 
of  His  Father's  Family  98 

Chapter  VIII.  The  National  Theatre  of  Elector  Max 
Franz — Beethoven's  Associates  in  the  Court  Orchestra — 
Anton  Reicha — Andreas  and  Bernhard  Romberg — 
His  Practical  Experience  in  the  Electoral  Band — The 
Operatic  Repertory  of  Five  Years  in  the  Court  Theatre     105 

Chapter  IX.  The  Last  Three  Years  of  Beethoven's  Life 
in  Bonn — Gleanings  of  Fact  and  Anecdote — A  Visit 
from  Haydn — Merry  Journey  up  the  Rhine — Beetho- 
ven's Meeting  with  Abbe  Sterkel — He  Extemporizes — 
His  Playing  Described  by  Carl  Ludwig  Junker — He 
Shows  a  Cantata  to  Haydn — The  Extent  of  Max 
Franz's  Patronage  of  the  Composer — Social  and  Artistic 
Life  in  Bonn — Madame  von  Breuning  a  Guardian 
Angel — The  Circle  of  Companions — Friendships  with 
Y  oung  Women — Jeannette  d'Honrath — Fraulein  Wester- 
hold — ^Eleonore  von  Breuning — Beethoven  Leaves  Bonn 
Forever — The  Parting  with  His  Friends — Incidents  of 
His  Journey  to  Vienna  110 

Chapter  X.  Beethoven's  Creative  Activity  in  Bonn — An 
Inquiry  into  the  Genesis  of  Many  Compositions — The 


Contents  of  Volume  I  xxi 

Cantatas  on  the  Death  of  Joseph  II  and  the  Elevation 
of  Leopold  II — Vicissitudes  of  These  Compositions — A 
Group  of  Songs — The  "Ritterballet"  and  Other  Instru- 
mental Works — Several  Chamber  Compositions — The 
String  Trio,  Op.  3,  Carried  to  England — Manuscripts 
Taken  by  Beethoven  from  Bonn  to  Vienna  129 

Chapter  XI.  Beethoven  in  Vienna — Care  for  His  Personal 
Appearance — Death  of  His  Father — Records  of  Minor 
Receipts  and  Expenditures — His  Studies  with  Haydn — 
Clandestine  Lessons  in  Composition  with  Johann  Schenk 
— A  Rupture  with  Haydn — Becomes  a  Pupil  of  Al- 
brechtsberger  and  Salieri — Characteristics  as  a  Pupil         14G 

Chapter  XII.  ^Nlusic  in  Vienna  at  the  Time  of  Beethoven's 
Arrival  There — Theatre,  Church  and  Concert-Room — 
Salieri  and  the  Royal  Imperial  Opera — Schikaneder's 
Theater  auf  der  Wieden — Composers  and  Conductors  in 
the  Imperial  Capital — Paucity  of  Public  Concerts — A 
Music-loving  Nobility:  The  Esterhazys;  Kinsky;  Lich- 
nowsky;  von  Kees;  van  Swieten — Private  Orchestras — 
Composers:  Haydn,  Kozeluch,  Forster,  Eberl,  Vanhall — 
Private  Theatres  163 

Chapter  XIII.  Beethoven  in  Society — Success  as  a  Vir- 
tuoso— The  Trios,  Op.  1 — Tender  Memories  of  Friends 
in  Bonn — A  Letter  to  Leonore  von  Breuning — Wegeler 
Comes  to  Vienna — His  Reminiscences — A  Quarrel  and 
Petition  for  Reconciliation — Irksome  Social  Conven- 
tions— Affairs  of  the  Heart — Variations  for  Simrock — 
First  Public  Appearance  as  Pianist  and  Composer — The 
Pianoforte  Concertos  in  C  and  B-flat — The  Trios,  Op.  1, 
Revised— Sonatas  Dedicated  to  Haydn — Dances  for  the 
Ridotto  Room — Plays  at  Haydn's  Concert  174 

Chapter  XIV.  The  Years  1706  and  1797— Success 
Achieved  in  the  Austrian  Capital — A  Visit  to  Prague — 
The  Scena:  "Ah,  pcrfido!" — Sojourn  in  Berlin  —  King 
Frederick  William  II — Prince  Louis  Ferdinand — ^'i()l<)n- 
cello  Sonatas — Relations  with  Hiinmel — Plays  for  the 
Singakademie — Fasch  and  Zciter — War-Songs — The 
Rombergs — A   Forgotten   Riding-Horse — Compositions 


xxii  Contents  of  Volume  I 

and  Publications  of  the  Period — Matthisson  and  His 
"Adelaide" — Quintet  for  Strings,  Op.  4 — Pieces  for 
Wind-instruments — The  "Jena"  Symphony — Dances         190 

Chapter  XV.  General  Bernadotte — The  Fiction  about 
His  Connection  with  the  "Sinfonia  eroica" — Rival 
Pianists — Joseph  Wolj03 — Tomaschek  Describes  Beetho- 
ven's Playing — Dragonetti — J.  B.  Cramer — Beethoven's 
Demeanor  in  Society — Compositions  of  1798  and  1799 — 
The  Trios,  Op.  9 — Pianoforte  Concertos  in  C  and  B-flat 
— An  Unfinished  Rondo  for  Pianoforte  and  Orchestra —  . 
Several  Pianoforte  Sonatas — "Sonate  pathetique" — 
Trio  for  Pianoforte,  Clarinet  and  Violoncello — Origin 
of  the  First  Symphony — Protest  Against  an  Arrange- 
ment of  it  as  a  Quintet  212 

Chapter  XVI.  Beethoven's  Social  Life  in  Vienna — Vogl — 
Kiesewetter — Zmeskall — Amenda — Count  Lichnowsky 
— Eppinger — Krumpholz — Schuppanzigh  and  His  Quar- 
tet— Johann  Nepomuk  Hummel — Friendships  with 
Women — Magdalene  Willmann — Christine  Gerhardi — 
Dedications  to  Pupils — Countess  Keglevics — Countess 
Henriette  Lichnowsky — Countess  Giulietta  Guicciardi 
— Countess  Thun — Princess  Liechtenstein — Baroness 
Braun  229 

Chapter  XVIL  Beethoven's  Character  and  Personality — 
His  Disposition — Evil  Effects  of  Early  Associations  and 
Inadequate  Intellectual  Training — Sentimental  Ideals 
not  Realized  in  Conduct — Self-sufficiency  and  Pride — 
The  Homage  of  Young  Disciples — Love  of  Nature — 
Relations  with  Women — Conceptions  of  Virtue — Liter- 
ary Tastes — His  Letters — The  Sketchbooks — His  Man- 
ner of  Compositions — Origin  of  His  Deafness  245 

Chapter  XVIII.  Beethoven's  Brothers — His  First  Concert 
on  His  Own  Account — Septet  and  First  Symphony 
Performed — Punto  and  the  Sonata  for  Horn — The 
Charlatan  Steibelt  Confounded — Beethoven's  Homes  in 
Vienna — Madame  Grillparzer,  the  Poet's  Mother — 
Dolezalek — Hoffmeister — E.  A.  Forster — The  Quartets, 
Op.  18 — Prince  Lichnowsky 's  Gift  of  a  Quartet  of  Viols 
—Publications  of  1800  265 


Contents  of  Volume  I  xxiii 

Chapter  XIX.  The  Year  1801 — Compositions  offered  to 
Hoffmeister — Concerts  for  Wounded  Soldiers — Vigano 
and  the  Ballet  "Prometheus" — Interest  in  the  Publica- 
tion of  Bach's  Works  and  His  Indigent  Daughter — 
Stephan  von  Breuning — Summer  Home  in  Hetzendorf — 
Composition  of  "The  Mount  of  Olives^' — Compositions 
and  Publications  of  the  Year — The  Funeral  March  in  the 
Sonata,  Op.  26— The  So-called  "Moonlight"  Sonata- 
Inspired  by  a  Poem  of  Seume's — Illicit  Publication  of 
the  String  Quintet,  Op.  29  281 

Chapter  XX.  Important  Letters  of  1801 — Communica- 
tions to  Amenda,  Hoffmeister  and  Wegeler — The  Com- 
poser's 111  Health — The  Beginning  of  His  Deafness—— 
Early  Symptoms  Described  by  Himself — Thoughts  of 
Marriage — Indignation  Aroused  by  the  Criticisms  of 
the  Allgemeine  Musikalische  Zeitung — The  "Leipsic 
Oxen" — Gradual  Recognition  of  Beethoven's  Genius — 
Anton  Reicha — Von  Breuning's  Relations  with  Beet- 
hoven— Lessons  to  Ferdinand  Ries  and  Carl  Czerny  297 

Chapter  XXI.  Beethoven's  Love-Affairs — Countess  Guic- 
ciardi — A  Conversation  with  Schindler  about  Her 
Marriage — Schindler's  Contradictory  Story — Countess 
Erdbdy — Schindler's  Theory  Disproved — The  Letter 
to  the  "Immortal  Beloved" — Critical  Study  of  its  Date 
— Countess  Guicciardi  Not  the  W^oman  Addressed — A 
Conjecture  Concerning  the  Countess  Therese  von 
Brunswick — Other  Candidates  for  the  Honor  of  Being 
the  Object  of  Beethoven's  Supreme  Love — Magdalena 
Willmann— Amalia  Sebald— The  Arguments  of  Kalischer, 
Mariam  Tenger  and  Marie  Lipsius  (La  Mara)  Set 
Forth  by  the  Editor  of  this  Biography — Statements  of 
Relations  and  Descendants  of  the  Countesses  Guicciardi 
and  von  Brunswick — The  Memoirs  of  the  Countess  The- 
rese— Later  French  Investigations  317 

Chapter  XXII.  The  Year  1802— The  Village  of  Ileiligen-^ 
stadt — Beethoven's  Views  on  Transcriptions — His  De- 
spondency— The  "Heiligenstadt  Will" — Confession  of 
His  Deafness — The  Second  Symphony — Return  to 
Vienna — ^larches  for  the  Pianoforte,  Four  Hands — A 


xxiv  Contents  of  Volume  I 

Defence  of  Brothers  Johann  and  Karl  Kaspar — Their 
Characters — Karl's  Management  of  Beethoven's  Busi- 
ness Affairs — The  Bagatelles,  Op.  33 — The  Songs,  Op. 
52 — Compositions  and  Publications  of  1802 — Three 
Sonatas  for  Pianoforte  and  Violin — The  Sonatas  for 
Pianoforte,  Op.  31 — An  Alteration  by  Nageli — Finale  of 
the  Sonata  in  D  minor — Beethoven  on  the  Character  of 
His  Variations  348 


Chapter  I 


Introductory — The  Electors  of  Cologne  in  the  Eighteenth 
Century — Joseph  Clemens,  Clemens  August  and  Max 
Friedrich — The  Electoral  Courts  and  Their  Music — 
Musical  Culture  in  Bonn  at  the  Time  of  Beethoven's 
Birth — ^Appearance  of  the  City  in  1770. 

ONE  of  the  compensations  for  the  horrors  of  the  French 
Revolution  was  the  sweeping  away  of  many  of  the  petty 
sovereignties  into  which  Germany  was  divided,  thereby 
rendering  in  our  day  a  union  of  the  German  People  and  the  rise 
of  a  German  Nation  possible.  The  first  to  fall  were  the  numerous 
ecclesiastical-civil  members  of  the  old,  loose  confederation,  some  of 
which  had  played  no  ignoble  nor  unimportant  part  in  the  advance  of 
civilization ;  but  their  day  was  past.  The  people  of  these  states  had 
in  divers  respects  enjoyed  a  better  lot  than  those  who  were  sub- 
jects of  hereditary  rulers,  and  the  old  German  saying:  "It  is  good 
to  dwell  under  the  crook,"  had  a  basis  of  fact.  At  the  least,  they 
were  not  sold  as  mercenary  troops;  their  blood  was  not  shed  on 
foreign  fields  to  support  their  princes'  ostentatious  splendor,  to 
enable  mistresses  and  ill-begotten  children  to  live  in  luxury  and 
riot.  But  the  antiquated  ideas  to  which  the  ecclesiastical  rulers 
held  with  bigoted  tenacity  had  become  a  barrier  to  progress,  the 
exceptions  being  too  few  to  render  their  farther  existence  desirable. 
These  members  of  the  empire,  greatly  differing  in  extent,  popu- 
lation, wealth  and  political  influence,  were  ruled  with  few  or  no 
exceptions  by  men  who  owed  their  positions  to  election  by 
chapters  or  other  church  corf)orations,  whose  numl)ers  were  so 
limited  as  to  give  full  play  to  every  sort  of  intrigue;  but  they 
could  not  assume  their  functions  until  their  titles  were  confirmed 
by  the  Pope  as  head  of  the  church,  and  by  the  Emperor  as  head 
of  the  confederation.  Thus  the  subject  had  no  voice  in  the 
matter,  and  it  hardly  need  be  said  that  his  welfare  and  prosperity 
were  never  included  among  the  motives  and  considerations  on 
which  the  elections  turned. 

[11 


2  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

The  sees,  by  their  charters  and  statutes,  we  think  without 
exception,  were  bestowed  upon  men  of  noble  birth.  They  were 
benefices  and  sinecures  for  younger  sons  of  princely  houses; 
estates  set  apart  and  consecrated  to  the  use,  emolument  and  en- 
joyment of  German  John  Lacklands.  In  the  long  list  of  their 
incumbents,  a  name  here  and  there  appears,  that  calls  up  historic 
associations; — a  man  of  letters  who  aided  in  the  increase  or 
diffusion  of  the  cumbrous  learning  of  his  time;  a  warrior  who  ex- 
changed his  robes  for  a  coat  of  mail;  a  politician  who  played  a 
part  more  or  less  honorable  or  the  reverse  in  the  affairs  and  in- 
trigues of  the  empire,  and,  very  rarely,  one  whose  daily  walk  and 
conversation  reflected,  in  some  measure,  the  life  and  principles 
of  the  founder  of  Christianity.  In  general,  as  they  owed  their 
places  wholly  to  political  and  family  influences,  so  they  assumed 
the  vows  and  garb  of  churchmen  as  necessary  steps  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  lives  of  affluence  and  pleasure.  So  late  as  far  into  the 
eighteenth  century,  travelling  was  slow,  laborious  and  expensive. 
Hence,  save  for  the  few  more  wealthy  and  powerful,  journeys, 
at  long  intervals,  to  a  council,  an  imperial  coronation  or  a  diet 
of  the  empire,  were  the  rare  interruptions  to  the  monotony  of 
their  daily  existence.  Not  having  the  power  to  transmit  their 
sees  to  their  children,  these  ecclesiastics  had  the  less  inducement 
to  rule  with  an  eye  to  the  welfare  of  their  subjects:  on  the  other 
hand,  the  temptation  was  very  strong  to  augment  their  revenues 
for  the  benefit  of  relatives  and  dependents,  and  especially  for  the 
gratification  of  their  own  tastes  and  inclinations,  among  which 
the  love  of  splendor  and  ostentatious  display  was  a  fruitful  source 
of    waste   and   extravagance. 

Confined  so  largely  to  their  own  small  capitals,  with  little 
intercourse  except  with  their  immediate  neighbors,  they  were 
far  more  dependent  upon  their  own  resources  for  amusement 
than  the  hereditary  princes:  and  what  so  obvious,  so  easily  ob- 
tained and  so  satisfactory  as  music,  the  theatre  and  the  dance! 
Thus  every  little  court  became  a  conservatory  of  these  arts,  and 
for  generations  most  of  the  great  names  in  them  may  be  found 
recorded  in  the  court  calendars.  One  is  therefore  not  surprised 
to  learn  how  many  of  the  more  distinguished  musical  composers 
began  life  as  singing  boys  in  cathedral  choirs  of  England  and  Ger- 
many. The  secular  princes,  especially  those  of  high  rank,  had, 
besides  their  civil  administration,  the  stirring  events  of  war, 
questions  of  public  policy,  schemes  and  intrigues  for  the  advance- 
ment of  family  interests  and  the  like,  to  engage  their  attention; 
but  the  ecclesiastic,  leaving  the  civil  administration,  as  a  rule. 


Cologne  and  Its  Electors  3 

in  the  hands  of  ministers,  had  little  to  occupy  him  officially  but 
a  tedious  routine  of  religious  forms  and  ceremonies;  to  him  there- 
fore the  theatre,  and  music  for  the  mass,  the  opera,  the  ball-room, 
and  the  salon,  were  matters  of  great  moment — they  filled  a  wide 
void  and  were  cherished  accordingly. 

The  three  German  ecclesiastical  princes  who  possessed  the 
greatest  power  and  influence  were  the  Archbishops  of  Mayence, 
Treves  and  Cologne — Electors  of  the  Empire  and  rulers  of  the 
fairest  regions  of  the  Rhine.  Peace  appears  hardly  to  have  been 
known  between  the  city  of  Cologne  and  its  earlier  archbishops; 
and,  in  the  thirteenth  century,  a  long-continued  and  even  bloody 
quarrel  resulted  in  the  victory  of  the  city.  It  remained  a  free 
imperial  town.  The  archbishops  retained  no  civil  or  political 
power  within  its  walls,  not  even  the  right  to  remain  there  more 
than  three  daj^s  at  any  one  time.  Thus  it  happened,  that  in  the 
year  1257  Archbishop  Engelbert  selected  Bonn  for  his  residence, 
and  formally  made  it  the  capital  of  the  electorate,  as  it  remained 
until  elector  and  court  were  swept  away  in  1794. 

Of  the  last  four  Electors  of  Cologne,  the  first  was  Joseph 
Clem.ens,  a  Bavarian  prince,  nephew  of  his  predecessor  Maximilian 
Heinrich.  The  choice  of  the  chapter  by  a  vote  of  thirteen  to  nine 
had  been  Cardinal  Fiirstenberg;  but  his  known,  or  supposed,  de- 
votion to  the  interests  of  the  French  king  had  prevented  the  rati- 
fication of  the  election  by  either  the  Emperor  or  the  Pope.  A 
new  one  being  ordered,  resulted  in  favor  of  the  Bavarian,  then  a 
youth  of  eighteen  years.  The  Pope  had  ratified  his  election  and 
appointed  a  bishop  to  perform  his  ecclesiastical  functions  ad  in- 
terim, and  the  Emperor  invested  him  with  the  electoral  dignity 
December  1,  1689.     Vehse  says  of  him: 

Like  two  of  his  predecessors  he  was  the  incumbent  of  five  sees;  he 
was  Archbishop  of  Cologne,  Bishop  of  Hildesheim,  Liege,  Ratisbon  and 
Frcisingen.  His  love  for  pomp  and  splendor  was  a  passion  which  he 
gratified  in  tlic  maf^nific^ence  of  his  court.  lie  delighted  to  draw  thither 
beautiful  and  intellectual  women.  Madame  de  Raysbeck,  and  Countess 
Fugger,  wife  of  his  chief  equerry,  were  his  declared  favorites.  For  seven- 
teen years,  that  is,  until  the  disastrous  year  1700,  when  Fenelon  conse- 
crated him,  he  dehiyed  assuming  his  vows.  lie  hehl  the  opinion,  universal 
in  the  courts  of  those  days,  that  he  might  with  a  clear  conscience  enjoy 
life  after  the  manner  of  secular  princes.  In  pleasing  the  ladies,  he  was 
utterly  regardless  of  expense,  and  for  their  amusement  gave  magnificent 
balls,  splendid  masquerades,  musical  and  dramatic  entertainments,  and 
hunting  parties. 

St.  Simon  relates  that  several  years  of  his  exile  were  passed 
at  Valenciennes,  where,  though  a  fugitive,  he  followed  the  same 


4  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

rouud  of  costly  pleasures  and  amusements.  He  also  records  one 
of  the  Elector's  jests  which  in  effrontery  surpasses  anything  re- 
lated of  his  contemporary,  Dean  Swift.  Some  time  after  his  con- 
secration, he  caused  public  notice  to  be  given,  that  on  the  approach- 
ing first  of  April  he  would  preach.  At  the  appointed  time  he 
mounted  the  pulpit,  bowed  gravely,  made  the  sign  of  the  cross, 
shouted  "Zum  April!"  (April  fool!),  and  retired  amid  a  flourish  of 
trumpets   and    the   rolling   of   drums. 

Dr.  Ennen  labors  energetically  to  prove  that  Joseph  Clemens's 
fondness  in  later  years  for  joining  in  all  grand  church  ceremonies 
rested  upon  higher  motives  than  the  mere  pleasure  of  displaying 
himself  in  his  magnificent  robes;  and  affirms  that  after  assuming 
his  priestly  vows  he  led  a  life  devoted  to  the  church  and  worthy 
of  his  order;  thenceforth  never  seeing  Madame  de  Raysbeck, 
mother  of  his  illegitimate  children,  except  in  the  presence  of  a 
third  person.  It  seems  proper  to  say  this  much  concerning  a 
prince  whose  electorship  is  the  point  of  departure  for  notices  of 
music  and  musicians  in  Bonn  during  the  eighteenth  century;  a 
prince  whose  fondness  for  the  art  led  him  at  home  and  in  exile  to 
support  both  vocal  and  instrumental  bands  on  a  scale  generous 
for  that  age;  and  who,  moreover,  made  some  pretensions  to  the 
title  of  composer  himself,  as  we  learn  from  a  letter  which  under 
date  of  July  20,  1720,  he  wrote  to  a  court  councillor  Ranch  to 
accompany  eleven  of  his  motets.  It  is  an  amusingly  frank  letter, 
beginning  with  a  confession  that  he  was  an  Ignorant  who  knew 
nothing  about  notes  and  had  absolutely  no  knowledge  of  musique, 
wherefore  he  admits  that  his  manner  of  composing  is  *'very  odd," 
being  compelled  to  sing  anything  that  came  into  his  head  to  a 
composer  whose  duty  it  was  to  bring  the  ideas  to  paper.  Never- 
theless he  is  quite  satisfied  with  himself,  "At  all  events  I  must 
have  a  good  ear  and  gusto,  for  the  public  that  has  heard  has  always 
approved.  But  the  methodum  which  I  have  adopted  is  that  of 
the  bees  that  draw  and  collect  the  honey  from  the  sweetest  flowers; 
so,  also,  I  have  taken  all  that  I  have  composed  from  good  masters 
whose  Musikalien  pleased  me.  Thus  I  freely  confess  my  pilfering, 
which  others  deny  and  try  to  appropriate  what  they  have  taken 
from  others.  Let  no  one,  therefore,  get  angry  if  he  hears  old 
arias  in  it,  for,  as  they  are  beautiful,  the  old  is  not  deprived  of  its 
praise.  ...  I  ascribe  everything  to  the  grace  of  God  who 
enlightened  me,  the  unknowing,  to  do  these  things."  Not  all 
"composers,"  royal  or  mean,  are  as  honest  as  the  old  Elector! 

It  is  fortunate  for  the  present  purpose,  that  the  portion  of 
the  electoral  archives  discovered  after  a  lapse  of  nearly  seventy 


Political  Vicissitudes  of  the  Electorate  5 

years  and  now  preserved  at  Diisseldorf,  consists  so  largely  of 
documents  relating  to  the  musical  establishment  of  the  court  at 
Bonn  during  the  last  century  of  its  existence.  They  rarely  afford 
information  upon  the  character  of  the  music  performed,  but  are 
sufficiently  complete,  when  supplemented  by  the  annual  Court 
Calendars,  to  determine  with  reasonable  correctness  the  number, 
character,  position  and  condition  of  its  members.  The  few  peti- 
tions and  decrees  hereafter  to  be  given  in  full  because  of  their 
connection  with  the  Beethovens,  suffice  for  specimens  of  the  long 
series  of  similar  documents,  uniform  in  character  and  generallj'^ 
of  too  little  interest  to  be  worth  transcription. 

In  1695  a  decree  issued  at  Liege  by  Joseph  Clemens,  then  in 
that  city  as  titular  bishop,  though  not  consecrated,  adds  three  new 
names  to  the  "Hoff-Musici,"  one  of  which.  Van  den  Eeden,  con- 
stantly reappears  in  the  documents  and  calendars  down  to  the  year 
1782.  From  a  list  of  payments  at  Liege  in  the  second  quarter  of 
1696,  we  find  that  Henri  Vandeneden  (Heinrich  Van  den  Eeden) 
was  a  bass  singer,  and  that  the  aggregate  of  vocalists,  instrument- 
ists,  with  the  organ-blower  (calcant),  was  eighteen  persons. 

Returned  to  Bonn,  Joseph  Clemens  resumed  his  plan  of  im- 
proving his  music,  and  for  those  days  of  small  orchestras  and 
niggardly  salaries  he  set  it  upon  a  rather  generous  foundation. 
A  decree  of  April  1,  1698,  put  in  force  the  next  month,  names  22 
persons    with    salaries    aggregating   8,890   florins. 

After  the  death  of  Maximilian  Heinrich  the  government 
passed  into  the  hands  of  Cardinal  Fiirstenberg,  his  coadjutor, 
who  owed  the  position  to  the  intrigues  of  Louis  XIV,  and  now 
used  it  by  all  possible  means  to  promote  French  interests.  The 
king's  troops  under  French  commanders,  he  admitted  into  the 
principal  towns  of  the  electorate,  and,  for  his  own  protection,  a 
French  garrison  of  10,000  men  into  Bonn.  War  was  the  conse- 
quence; an  imperial  army  successfully  invaded  the  province, 
and,  advancing  to  the  capital,  subjected  its  unfortunate  inhabi- 
tants to  all  the  horrors  of  a  relentless  siege,  that  ended  October 
15,  1689,  in  the  expulsion  of  the  garrison,  now  reduced  to  some  3900 
men,  of  whom  1500  were  invalids.  Yet  in  the  war  of  the  Spanish 
Succession  winch  opened  in  1701,  notwithstanding  the  terrible 
lesson  taught  only  eleven  years  before,  the  infatuated  Joseph 
Clemens  embraced  the  party  of  Ix)uis.  Emperor  Leopold  treated 
him  with  singular  mildness,  in  vain.  The  Elector  persisted.  In 
1702  he  was  therefore  excluded  from  the  civil  government  and 
fled  from  Bonn,  the  ecclesiastical  authority  in  Cologne  being  em- 
powered by  the  Emperor  to  rule  in  his  stead.     The  next  year,  the 


6  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

great  success  of  the  French  armies  against  the  allies  was  celebrated 
by  Joseph  Clemens  with  all  pomp  in  Namur,  where  he  then  was; 
but  his  triumph  was  short.  John  Churchill,  then  Earl  of  Marl- 
borough, took  the  field  as  commander-in-chief  of  the  armies  of 
the  allies.  His  foresight,  energy  and  astonishing  skill  in  action 
justified  Addison's  simile — whether  sublime  or  only  pompous — of 
the  angel  riding  in  the  whirlwind  and  directing  the  storm.  He 
was  soon  at  Cologne,  whence  he  despatched  Cochorn  to  besiege 
Bonn.  That  great  general  executed  his  task  with  such  skill  and 
impetuosity,  that  on  May  15  (1703)  all  was  ready  for  storm- 
ing the  city,  when  d'Allegre,  the  French  commander,  ofiFered  to 
capitulate,  and  on  the  19th  was  allowed  to  retire.  "Now  was 
Bonn  for  the  third  time  wrested  from  the  hands  of  the  French  and 
restored  to  the  archbishopric,  but  alas,  in  a  condition  that  aroused 
indignation,  grief  and  compassion  on  all  sides,"  says  Miiller. 

Leopold  was  still  kindly  disposed  toward  Joseph  Clemens, 
but  he  died  May  5,  1705,  and  his  successor,  Joseph  I,  immedi- 
ately declared  him  under  the  ban  of  the  Empire,  This  deprived 
him  of  the  means  and  opportunities,  as  Elector,  for  indulging  his 
passion  for  pomp  and  display,  while  his  neglect  hitherto,  under 
dispensations  from  the  Pope,  to  take  the  vows  necessary  to  the 
performance  of  ecclesiastical  functions,  was  likewise  fatal  to  that 
indulgence  as  archbishop.  But  this  could  be  remedied;  Fene- 
lon,  the  famous  Archbishop  of  Cambray,  ordained  him  subdeacon 
August  15,  1706;  the  Bishop  of  Tournay  made  him  deacon 
December  8,  and  priest  on  the  25th;  on  January  1,  1707,  he  read 
his  first  mass  at  Lille,  and  indulged  his  passion  for  parade  to  the 
full,  as  a  pamphlet  describing  the  incident,  and  silver  and  copper 
medals  commemorating  it,  still  evince,  "Two  years  later.  May  1, 
1709,  Joseph  Clemens  received  from  Fenelon  in  Ryssel  (Lille) 
episcopal  consecration  and  the  pallium." — (Miiller.)  Upon  the 
victory  of  Oudenarde  by  Marlborough,  and  the  fall  of  Lille,  he 
took  refuge  in  Mons.  The  treaty  of  Rastadt,  March,  1714, 
restored  him  to  his  electoral  dignities  and  he  returned  to  the  Rhine; 
but  Dutch  troops  continued  to  hold  Bonn  until  December  11, 
1715,  On  the  morning  of  tliat  day  they  evacuated  the  city  and 
in  the  afternoon  the  Elector  entered  in  a  grand,  solemn  procession 
commemorated  by  an  issue  of  silver  medals. 

During  all  these  vicissitudes  Joseph  Clemens,  from  whatever 
source  he  derived  the  means,  did  not  suffer  his  music  to  deteriorate 
and,  returned  to  Bonn,  no  sooner  was  the  public  business  regulated 
and  restored  to  its  former  routine  than  he  again  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  its  improvement. 


The  Rule  of  Elector  Clemens  August  7 

Joseph  Clemens  died  November  12,  1723,  having  prex^ously 
secured  the  succession  to  his  nephew  Clemens  August,  last  of  the 
five  Electors  of  Cologne  of  the  Bavarian  line.  The  new  incum- 
bent, third  son  of  Maximilian  Emanuel,  Elector  of  Bavaria  and 
his  second  v,^ie,  a  daughter  of  the  celebrated  John  Sobieski  of 
Poland,  was  born  August  17,  1700,  at  Brussels,  where  his  father 
resided  at  the  time  as  Governor  General.  From  his  fourth  to  his 
fifteenth  year  he  had  been  held  in  captivity  by  the  Austrians  at 
Klagenfurt  and  Gratz;  then,  having  been  destined  for  the  church, 
he  spent  several  years  at  study  in  Rome.  As  a  child  in  1715  he 
had  been  appointed  coadjutor  to  the  Bishop  of  Regensburg;  in  1719 
he  was  elected  to  the  two  sees  of  Paderborn  and  Mlinster  made 
vacant  by  the  death  of  his  brother  Moritz,  was  chosen  coadjutor 
to  his  uncle  of  Cologne  in  1722,  made  his  solemn  entry  into  Bonn 
as  elector  May  15,  1724,  was  the  same  year  also  elected  Bishop 
of  Hildesheim,  in  1725  Provost  of  the  Cathedral  at  Liege,  1728 
Bishop  of  Osnabriick,  and,  finally,  in  1732  reached  the  dignity  of 
Grand    Master   of   the   Teutonic  Order. 

His  rule  is  distinguished  in  the  annals  of  the  electorate  for 
little  else  than  the  building,  repairing,  renewing  and  embellishing 
of  palaces,  hunting-seats,  churches,  convents,  and  other  edifices. 
At  Bonn  he  erected  the  huge  pile  the  foundation  of  which  had 
been  laid  l)y  his  uncle,  now  the  seat  of  the  university.  The  hand- 
some City  Hall  was  also  his  work;  the  villa  at  Poppelsdorf  was 
enlarged  by  him  into  a  small  palace,  Clemensruhe,  now  the  Univer- 
sity Museum  of  Natural  History.  In  Briihl,  the  Augustusburg, 
now  a  Prussian  royal  palace,  dates  from  his  reign,  and  Miinster, 
Mergentheim,  Arnsberg  and  other  places  show  similar  monu- 
ments of  his  prodigality  in  the  indulgence  of  his  taste  for  splendor. 
"Monstrous  were  the  sums,"  says  Dr.  Ennen,  "squandered  by  him 
in  the  purchase  of  splendid  ornaments,  magnificent  equipages, 
furniture  costly  for  its  variety,  and  of  curious  works  of  art;  upon 
festivities,  sleighing-parties,  masquerades,  operas,  dramas  and 
ballets;  upon  charlatans,  swindlers,  female  vocalists,  actors  and 
dancers.  His  theatre  and  opera  alone  cost  him  50,000  thalers 
annually  and  the  magnificence  of  his  masked  balls,  twice  a  week 
in  winter,  is  proof  suflicient  tliat  no  small  sums  were  lavished 
upon  them." 

The  aggregate  of  the  revenues  derived  from  the  several  states 
of  which  Clemens  August  was  the  head  nowlierc  appears;  but 
the  civil  income  of  the  electorate  alone  had,  in  liis  later  years, 
risen  from  the  million  of  fiorins  of  his  predecessor  to  about  the 
same  number  of   thalers — an  increase  of  some  40   per   centum; 


8  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

added  to  this  were  large  sums  derived  from  the  church,  and  sub- 
sidies from  Austria,  France  and  the  sea-coast  states  amounting 
to  at  least  14,000,000  francs;  indeed,  during  the  Elector's  last 
ten  years  the  French  subsidies  alone  made  an  aggregate  of  at 
least  7,300,000  francs;  in  1728  Holland  paid  on  account  of  the 
Clemens  Canal  76,000  thalers.  At  the  centennial  opening  of 
the  strong-box  of  the  Teutonic  Order  he  obtained  the  fat  accumu- 
lations of  a  hundred  years;  and  25  years  later  he  opened  it  again. 
Yet,  though  during  his  rule  peace  was  hardly  interrupted  in  his 
part  of  Europe,  he  plunged  ever  deeper  and  more  inextricably 
into  debt,  leaving  one  of  large  proportions  as  his  legacy  to  his  suc- 
cessor. He  was  a  bad  ruler,  but  a  kindly,  amiable  and  popular 
man.  How  should  he  know  or  feel  the  value  of  money  or  the 
necessity  of  prudence.'*  His  childhood  had  been  spent  in  cap- 
tivity, his  student  years  in  Rome,  where,  precisely  at  that  period, 
poetry  and  music  were  cultivated,  if  not  in  very  noble  and  manly 
forms,  at  least  with  a  Medicean  splendor.  The  society  of  the 
Arcadians  was  in  full  activity.  True,  both  Clemens  August  and 
his  brother  were  under  the  age  which  enabled  them  to  be  enrolled 
as  "Shepherds,"  and  consequently  their  names  appear  neither  in 
Crescembini  nor  in  Quadrio;  but  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  two 
young  princes,  already  bishops  by  election  and  certain  of  still  higher 
dignities  in  the  future,  were  excluded  from  the  palaces  of  Ruspoli 
and  Ottoboni,  from  those  brilliant  literary,  artistic  and  luxurious 
circles  in  which,  only  half  a  dozen  years  before,  their  young 
countryman,  the  musician  Handel,  had  found  so  cordial  a  wel- 
come. Those  were  very  expensive  tastes,  as  the  citation  from 
Ennen  shows,  which  the  future  elector  brought  with  him  from 
Rome.  Italian  palaces,  Italian  villas,  churches,  gardens,  music, 
songstresses,  mistresses,  an  Italian  holy  staircase  on  the  Kreuzberg 
(leading  to  nothing);  Italian  pictures,  mosaics  and,  what  not.^ 
All  these  things  cost  money — but  must  he  not  have  them? 

This  elector  is  perhaps  the  only  archbishop  on  record  to 
whose  epitaph  may  truthfully  be  added:  "He  danced  out  of  this 
world  into  some  other"; — which  happened  in  this  wise:  Having, 
in  the  winter  of  1760-61,  by  some  unexpected  stroke  of  good  for- 
tune, succeeded  in  obtaining  from  the  usually  prudent  and  careful 
bankers  of  Holland  a  loan  of  80,000  thalers,  he  embraced  the 
opportunity  of  making  a  long-desired  visit  to  his  family  in  Munich. 
Owing  to  a  sudden  attack  of  illness  he  was  once  on  the  point  of 
turning  back  soon  after  leaving  Bonn.  He  persevered,  however, 
reached  Coblenz  and  crossed  over  to  the  palace  of  the  Elector 
of    Treves    at    Ehrenbreitstein,    where    he    arrived    at    4    p.m. 


Appointments  in  the  Electoral  Chapel  9 

February  5,  1761.  At  dinner  an  hour  later  he  was  unable  to  eat; 
but  at  the  ball,  which  followed,  he  could  not  resist  the  fascination 
of  the  Baroness  von  Waldendorf — sister  of  His  Transparency  of 
Treves — and  danced  with  her  "eight  or  nine  turns."  Of  course 
he  could  not  refuse  a  similar  compliment  to  several  other  ladies. 
The  physical  exertion  of  dancing,  joined  to  the  excitement  of  the 
occasion  and  following  a  dreary  winter-day's  journey,  was  too 
much  for  the  enfeebled  constitution  of  a  man  of  sixty  years.  He 
fainted  in  the  ballroom,  was  carried  to  his  chamber  and  died 
next  day. 

It  seems  to  have  been  the  etiquette,  that  when  an  elector 
breathed  his  last,  the  musical  chapel  expired  with  him.  At  all 
events,  no  other  explanation  appears  of  the  fact  that  so  many  of 
the  petitions  for  membership,  which  are  still  preserved,  should  be 
signed  by  men  who  had  already  been  named  in  the  Court  Calen- 
dars. It  is  also  to  be  remarked  that  some  of  the  petitioners  re- 
ceive appointments  "without  salary."  These  seem  to  have  been 
appointments  of  the  kind,  which  in  later  years  were  distinguished 
in  the  records  and  in  the  calendars  by  the  term  "accessist,"  and 
which,  according  to  the  best  lights  afforded  by  the  archives,  may 
be  considered  as  having  been  provisional,  until  the  incumbent 
had  proved  his  skill  and  capacity,  or  until  a  vacancy  occurred 
through  the  death  or  resignation  of  some  old  member.  There  are 
indications  that  the  "accessists,"  though  without  fixed  salary, 
received  some  small  remuneration  for  their  services;  but  this  is  by 
no  means  certain.  It  would  seem  that  both  vocalists  and  instru- 
mentists  who  received  salaries  out  of  the  state  revenues  were 
limited  to  a  fixed  number;  that  the  amount  of  funds  devoted  to 
this  object  was  also  strictly  limited  and  the  costs  incurred  by  the 
engagement  of  superior  artists  with  extra  salaries,  or  by  an  in- 
crease of  the  number,  were  defrayed  from  the  Elector's  privy 
purse;  that  the  position  of  "accessist"  was  sought  by  young  mu- 
sicians as  a  stepping-stone  to  some  future  vacancy  which,  when 
acquired,  insured  a  gradually  increasing  income  during  the  years 
of  service  and  a  small  pension  when  superannuated;  that  the 
etiquette  of  the  court  demanded,  even  in  cases  when  the  Elector 
expressly  called  some  distinguished  artist  to  Bonn,  that  the  ap- 
pointment should  be  apparently  only  in  gracious  answer  to  an 
humble  petition,  and  that,  with  few  exceptions,  both  singers  and 
members  of  the  orchestra  were  employed  in  the  church,  the  theatre 
and   the  concert-room. 

Clemens  August  made  his  formal  entry  into  Bonn,  May  15, 
1724.     A  number  of  petitions  are  passed  over,  but  one  granted 


10  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

"without  salary"  on  February   18,   1727,  from   Van  den    Eeden 
must  be  given  in  its  entirety: 

SuppHque  tres  humble  a  S.  A.  S.  E.  de  Cologne 
pour  Gille  Vandeneet. 

Bonn,  d.  18  Feb.,  1727. 
Prince  Serenissime, 
Monsigneur. 
Vandeneet  vient  avec  tout  le  respect  qui  luy  est  possible  se  mettre 
aux  pieds  de  V.  A.  S.  E.  luy  representer  qu'ayant  eu  I'honneur  d'avoir 
estre  second  organiste  de  feu  S.  A.  S.  E,  d'heureuse  memoire,  elle  daigne 
luy  vouloir  faire  la  meme  grace  ne  demendant  aucun  gage  si  long  terns 
qu'il  plaira  a  V.  A.  S.  E.  promettant  la  servire  avec  soin  et  diligence. 

Quoi  faisant  etc.  etc. 

On  the  same  date  Van  den  Eeden  received  his  appointment 
as  second  court  organist.  June  8,  1728,  a  decree  is  issued  grant- 
ing him  a  salary  of  100  florins.  To  a  third  petition  the  next  year, 
signed  Van  den  Enden,  the  answer  is  an  increase  of  his  salary  to 
200  thalers,  and  thus  a  future  instructor  of  Ludwig  van  Beetho- 
ven becomes  established  in  Bonn.  The  records  need  not  concern 
us  now  until  we  reach  the  following,  which  forms  part  of  the 
history  of  the  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  biography: 

March,  1733, 

DECRETUM 

For  Ludovicum  van  Beethoven  as  Electoral  Court  Musician. 

CI.  A.  Whereas  His  Serene  Highness  Elector  of  Cologne,  Duke 
Clemens  August  in  Upper  and  Lower  Bavaria,  etc.  Our  Gracious  Lord 
having,  on  the  humble  petition  of  liudovico  van  Beethoven,  graciously 
declared  and  received  him  as  Court  Musician,  and  assigned  him  an  annual 
salary  of  400  florins  Rhenisb,  the  present  decree  under  the  gracious  hand 
of  His  Serene  Electoral  Highness  and  the  seal  of  the  Privy  Chancellor, 
is  granted  to  him,  and  the  Electoral  Councillor  and  Paymaster  Risack 
is  herewith  commanded  to  pay  the  said  Beethoven  the  400  fl.  quartaliter 
from  the  beginning  of  this  year  and  to  make  a  proper  accounting  thereof. 
B March,  1733. 

Thirteen  years  later  we  find  this: 

Allowance  of  an  additional  100  Thalers  annually  to  the 
Chamber  Musician  van  Beethoven. 

Inasmuch  as  His  Serene  Highness  Elector  of  Cologne,  Duke  Clement 
August  of  Upper  and  Lower  Bavaria,  our  most  Gracious  Lord  has  in- 
creased the  salary  of  his  Chamber  Musician  van  Beethoven  by  the  addi- 
tion of  100  thalers  annually  which  became  due  through  the  death  of 
Joseph  Kayser,  instrument  maker,  the  Court  Chamber  Councillor  and 
Paymaster  Risach  is  hereby  informed  and  graciously  commanded  to 


JoHANx  VAN  Beethoven  Becomes  "Accessist"       11 

pay  to  him  the  said  Beethoven  the  100  fl.  a  year  in  quarterly  installments 
against  voucher  from  the  proper  time  and  to  make  the  proper  accounting. 
Witness,  etc.     Poppelsdorf,  August  22,  1746. 

On  May  2,  17-47,  Johann  Ries  became  Court  Trumpeter 
with  a  salary  of  192  thalers.  This  is  the  first  representative  we 
have  met  of  a  name  which  afterwards  rose  to  great  distinction,, 
not  only  in  the  orchestra  of  the  Elector  but  also  in  the  world  at 
large.  On  March  5,  1754,  he  was  formally  appointed  Court 
Musician  (violinist)  ha\'ing  set  forth  in  his  petition  that  instead 
of  confining  himself  to  the  trumpet  he  had  made  himself  service- 
able in  the  chapel  by  singing  and  playing  other  instruments. 
Later  he  took  ill  and  was  sent  to  Cologne.  We  shall  presently 
meet  his  two  daughters  and  his  son  Franz  Ries,  the  last  of  whom 
will  figure  prominently  in  the  life-history  of  Beethoven.  Under 
date  March  27,  1756,  occur  several  papers  which  have  a  double 
interest.  They  relate  to  the  Beethoven  family  and  are  so  com- 
plete as  to  exhibit  the  entire  process  of  appointment  to  member- 
ship in  the  electoral  chapel.  The  original  documents  are  not 
calculated  to  give  the  reader  a  very  exalted  idea  of  the  ortho- 
graphical knowledge  of  the  petitioner  or  the  Chamber  Music 
Director  Gottwaldt;  but  that  fault  gives  us  the  clue  to  the  cor- 
rect pronunciation  of  the  name  Beethoven — the  English  "Beet- 
garden." 

To  His  Electoral  Serenity  of  Cologne,  etc.     My  most  Gracious  Lord 
the  humble  petition  and  prayer  of 

Joan  van  Biethoffen. 

Most  Reverend,   most  Serene   Elector, 
Most  Gracious  Lord,  Lord,  etc. 

May  it  please  your  Electoral  Serenity  graciously  to  hear  the  humble 
representations  how  in  the  absence  of  voices  in  Your  Highness's  Court 
Chapel  my  insignififant  self  tof)k  part  in  the  music  for  at  least  four  years 
without  the  good  fortune  of  having  allotted  by  Your  Serene  Electoral 
Highness  a  small  aulario. 

I  therefore  pray  Your  Serene  Electoral  Highness  most  humbly  that 
it  graciously  jilease  you  fin  considcraf  ion  of  my  father's  faithful  service 
for  23  years)  to  rejoice  me  with  a  decree  as  court  musician,  which  high 
grace  will  infuse  me  with  zeal  to  serve  Your  Serene  Highness  with  the 
greatest  fidelity  and  zealousness. 

Your 

Serene  Electoral  Highness's 

Most  hunil)le-obedient-faithful  servant, 

Joan  van  Biethoffen. 


12  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

To  the  Music  Director  Gottwaldt  for  a  report  of  his  humble 
judgment.     Attestation  by  the  most  gracious 
sign  manual  and  seal  of  the  privy  chancellary. 

Bonn,  March  19,  1756. 

(Signed)  Clemens  August  (L.S.) 

Most  reverend,  most  serene  Elector, 
Most  gracious  Lord,  Lord,  etc. 

Your  Serene  Electoral  Highness  has  referred  to  my  humble  judg- 
ment the  petition  of  Joan  van  Piethoffen,  the  supplicant  prays  Your 
Electoral  Highness  for  a  gracious  decree  as  accessist  in  the  court  music, 
he  has  lindeed  served  for  two  years  with  his  voice  on  the  Due  Sail 
(doxal),  hopes  in  time  to  deserve  the  good  will  of  Your  Serene  Highness 
by  his  industry,  and  his  father  who  enjoys  the  grace  of  serving  Your 
Highness  as  bass  singer  prays  his  appointment,  I  pray  most  humbly  and 
obediently  for  instruction  concerning  your  Highness's  good  will  in  the 
matter,  submit  myself  humbly  and  obediently  to  Your  Serene  Highness's 
grace  and  remain  in  greatest  humility. 

Your  Serene  and  Electoral  Highness's 

Most  Humble  and  obedient  servant 

Gottwaldt,  Director  of  the 

Chamber  Music. 

A  further  report  was  made  to  the  Elector  as  follows: 

Bonn,  March  27,  1756. 
Coloniensis  gratiosa. 

Chamber  Music  Director  Gottwaldt  ad  supplicam  of  Joan  van 
Betthoffen  has  served  two  years  on  the  docsal  and  hopes  through  his 
industry  to  serve  further  to  the  satisfaction  of  Your  Electoral  Highness, 
to  which  end  his  father  who  through  Your  Highness's  grace  serves  as 
bass  singer  will  seek  completely  to  qualify  him  which  may  it  please  Your 
Serene  Highness  to  allow. 

Idem  Gottwaldt  ad  supplicam  Ernest  Haveckas,  accessist  in  the 
court  music,  reports  that  suppliant,  though  not  fully  capable  as  yet 
hopes  by  special  diligence  to  make  himself  worthy  of  Your  Highness's 
service  and  would  be  encouraged  and  rejoiced  in  his  efforts  if  Your  Serene 
Highness  would  graciously  deign  to  grant  him  a  decreto,  humbly  praying 
to  be  informed  as  to  Your  Highness's  wishes  in  the  matter. 

DECRETUM 

Court  Musician's  Decree  for  Johan  van  Biethofen. 

Clm.  A.  Whereas  His  Serene  Electoral  Highness  of  Cologne, 
Duke  Clement  August  in  Upper  and  Lower  Bavaria  etc.  Our  Gracious 
Lord  on  the  humble  petition  of  Johan  van  Biethofen  and  in  considera- 
tion of  his  skill  in  the  art  of  singing,  also  the  experience  in  the  same 
already  gained,  having  graciously  declared  and  accepted  him  as  court 
musician,  appoint  and  accept  him  by  this  writing;  therefore  the  said 


The  Duties  of  Court  Chapelmasters  13 

Biethofen  receives  this  decree  with  the  gracious  sign  manual  and  seal  of 
the  Privy  Chancellary,  and  those  who  are  concerned  to  recognize  him 
hereafter  as  an  Electoral  court  musician  and  to  pay  him  such  respect  as 
the  position  deserves.     Bonn,  March  25,   1756. 

Johann  van  Beethoven  was  16  years  old  at  this  time.  Why 
he  should  appear  in  the  Court  Calendar  as  an  accessist  four  years 
after  the  publication  of  this  decree  appointing  him  Court  Musician 
does  not  appear. 

But  slender  success  has  rewarded  the  search  for  means  of 
determining  the  character  and  quality  of  that  opera  and  music, 
upon  which,  according  to  Ennen,  Clemens  August  lavished  such 
large  sums.  The  period  embraced  in  that  elector's  rule  (1724- 
1761)  was  precisely  that  in  which  the  old  Italian  opera,  the  oratorio 
and  the  sacred  cantata  reached  their  extreme  limits  of  develop- 
ment through  the  genius  of  Handel  and  J.  S.  Bach.  It  closes  at 
the  moment  when  Gluck,  C.  P.  E.  Bach  and  Joseph  Haydn  were 
laying  the  immovable  foundations  of  a  new  operatic,  orchestral 
and  pianoforte  music,  and  before  the  perfected  sonata-form,  that 
found  universal  adoption  in  all  compositions  of  the  better  class, 
not  vocal.  Little  music  comparatively  was  issued  from  the  press 
in  those  days,  and  consequently  new  forms  and  new  styles  made 
their  way  slowly  into  vogue.  Another  consequence  was  that  the 
offices  of  composer  for  the  chamber,  the  church,  the  comedy, 
or  however  they  were  named,  were  by  no  means  sinecures — neither 
at  the  imperial  court  of  Maria  Theresia,  nor  at  the  court  of  any 
petty  prince  or  noble  whose  servants  formed  his  orchestra.  Com- 
posers had  to  furnish  music  on  demand  and  as  often  as  was  nec- 
essary, as  the  hunter  delivered  game  or  the  fisherman  fish.  What 
a  volume  of  music  was  produced  in  this  manner  can  be  seen  in 
the  case  of  Joseph  Haydn  at  Esterhaz,  whose  fruitfulness  did  not,  in 
all  probability,  exceed  that  of  many  another  of  his  contemporaries. 
The  older  Telemann  furnished  compositions  to  the  courts  of 
Bayreuth  and  Eisenach  as  well  as  the  Gray  Friars  at  Frankfort- 
on-the-Main,  and  also  performed  his  duties  as  musical  director 
and  composer  at  Hamburg.  He  wrote  music  with  such  ease  that, 
as  Handel  said,  he  could  write  for  eight  voices  as  rapidly  as  an 
ordinary  man  could  write  a  letter.  Under  such  conditions  did 
the  men  write  who  are  mentioned  as  official  composers  in  our 
narrative.  It  is  probable  that  not  a  note  of  theirs  remains  in 
existence,  and  equally  probable  that  the  loss  is  not  at  all  deplor- 
able except  as  it  leaves  the  curiosity  of  an  antiquary  unsatisfied. 
A  few  text-books  to  vocal  pieces  performed  on  various  occa- 
sions during  this  reign   have  been   preserved,   their  titles  being 


14  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

"Componimento  per  Musica,"  music  by  Giuseppe  daH'Abaeo, 
Director  of  the  Chamber  Music  (1740);  "La  Morte  d'Abel"  (no 
date  is  given,  but  "il  Signor  Biethoven"  sang  the  part  of  Adamo); 
"Esther"  ("From  the  Itahan  of  S.  F.  A.  Aubert,"  the  text  partly 
in  German,  partly  in  Italian);  "Anagilda"  (Drama  per  Musica). 

After  the  unlucky  ball  at  Ehrenbreitstein  the  crook  and 
sceptre  of  Cologne  passed  from  the  Bavarian  family  which  had 
so  long  held  them  into  the  hands  of  Maximilian  Friedrich  of  the 
Suabian  line  Konigsegg-  (or  Konigseck-)  Rothenfels.  For  a  cen- 
tury or  more  this  house  had  enjoyed  fat  livings  in  the  church  at 
Cologne,  in  which  city  the  new  elector  was  born  on  May  13,  1708. 
He  was  the  fourth  of  his  race  who  had  held  the  important  office  of 
Dean  of  the  Cathedral,  from  which  post  he  was  elevated  to  the 
electorship  on  April  6,  1761,  and  to  the  ecclesiastical  principality 
of  Mlinster  the  next  year;  with  which  two  sees  he  was  fain  to  be 
content.  He  was  by  nature  an  easy,  good-tempered,  indolent, 
friendly  man,  of  no  great  force  of  character — qualities  which  in 
the  incumbent  of  a  rich  sinecure  just  completing  his  fifty-third 
year,  would  be  too  fully  confirmed  and  developed  by  habit  to 
change  with  any  change  of  circumstances;  and  which,  says 
Stramberg,  made  him  unusually  popular  throughout  the  land 
despite  the  familiar  little  verse: 

Bei  Clemens  August  trug  man  blau  und  weiss, 
Da  lebte  man  wie  im  Paradeis; 

Bei  Max  Friedrich  trug  man  sich  schwarz  und  roth. 
Da  litt  man  Hunger  wie  die  schwere  Noth. 

The  condition  of  the  finances  had  become  such  through  the 
extravagant  expenditures  of  Clemens  August  that  very  energetic 
measures  were  necessary,  and  to  the  effects  of  these,  during  the 
first  few  years  of  Max  Friedrich's  rule,  in  throwing  many  persons 
out  of  employment,  these  doggerel  lines  doubtless  owe  their  origin. 

It  was  fortunate  for  the  Elector's  subjects  that  his  indolence 
was  made  good  by  the  activity  and  energy  of  a  prime  minister 
who  found  his  beau  ideal  of  a  statesman  in  Frederick  II  of  Prussia, 
whom,  in  his  domestic  policy,  he  imitated  as  far  as  the  character 
of  the  two  governments  allowed.  This  was  equally  if  not  more 
true  in  the  principality  of  Miinster.  To  the  respect  which  one 
must  feel  for  the  memory  of  Belderbusch,  the  all-powerful  minister 
at  Bonn,  is  added,  in  the  case  of  Furstenberg,  the  equally  power- 
ful minister  at  Miinster,  admiration  and  regard  for  the  man. 
The  former  was  respected,  feared,  but  not  loved  in  the  electorate; 
the  latter  was  respected  and  very  popular  in  the  principality. 


Max  Friedrich  and  His  Minister  15 

To  Kasper  Anton  von  Belderbusch  the  new  Elector  owed  his  ele- 
vation; to  his  care  he  entrusted  the  state;  to  his  skill  and  strength 
of  character  he  was  indebted  for  release  from  the  pecuniary  dif- 
ficulties which  beset  him  and  for  the  satisfaction,  as  the  years 
rolled  by,  of  seeing  his  states  numbered  among  the  most  prosper- 
ous and  flourishing  in  Germany.  Belderbusch's  first  care  was 
to  reduce  the  expenditure.  "He  put  a  stop  to  building,"  says 
Ennen,  "dismissed  a  number  of  the  actors,  restricted  the  number 
of  concerts  and  court  balls,  dispensed  with  the  costly  hunts, 
reduced  the  salaries  of  court  ofiicials,  officers  and  domestics, 
lessened  the  etat  for  the  kitchen,  cellar  and  table  of  the  prince, 
turned  the  property  left  by  Clemens  August  into  money  and  com- 
forted the  latter's  creditors  with  the  hope  of  better  times."  But 
though  economy  was  the  rule,  still,  where  the  Elector  considered 
it  due  to  his  position,  he  could  be  lavish.  Whatever  opinions  may 
be  entertained  as  to  the  wisdom  and  expediency  of  clothing  eccle- 
siastics with  civil  power,  it  would  be  unjust  not  to  give  the  bright 
as  well  as  the  dark  side  of  the  picture.  This  is  well  put  by  Kaspar 
Risbeck  in  relation  to  the  Rhenish  states  whose  princes  were 
churchmen,  and  his  remarks  are  in  place  here,  since  they  relate 
in  part  to  that  in  which  the  childhood  and  youth  of  Beethoven 
were  spent. 

The  whole  stretch  of  the  country  from  here  to  Mayence  is  one  of 
the  richest  and  most  populous  in  Germany.  Within  this  territory  of 
18  German  miles  there  are  20  cities  lying  hard  by  the  shore  of  the  Rhine 
and  dating,  for  the  greater  part,  from  the  period  of  the  Romans.  It  is  still 
plainly  to  be  seen  that  this  portion  of  Germany  was  the  first  to  be  built 
up.  Neither  morasses  nor  heatiis  interru])t  the  evidences  of  cultiva- 
tion which  stretch  with  equal  industry  far  from  the  shores  of  the  river 
over  the  contiguous  country.  While  many  cities  and  castles  built  under 
Charlemagne  and  iiis  successors,  especially  Henry  I,  in  other  parts  of 
Germany  have  fallen  into  decay,  all  in  this  section  have  not  only  been 

preserved    hut    many  have  been  added  to  them The  natural 

wealth  of  the  soil  in  rom{)arison  with  that  of  other  lands,  and  the  easy 
disposition  of  its  jjroducts  by  means  of  the  Rhine,  have  no  doubt  con- 
trihuted  most  to  these  results.  Nevertheless,  great  as  is  the  prejudice 
in  (ierrnany  a;,'ainst  the  ecclesiastical  governments,  they  have  beyond 
doubt  aided  in  the  blooming  development  of  these  regions.  In  the 
three  ecclesiastical  electorates  which  make  up  the  greater  part  of  this 
tract  of  land  nothing  is  known  of  those  tax  burdens  under  which  the 
subjects  of  so  many  secular  princes  of  (icrniaiiy  groan.  These  princes 
have  exceeded  the  old  assessments  but  sligiitly.  Little  is  known  in 
their  countries  of  .serfdom.  The  appanage  of  many  princes  and  prin- 
cesses do  not  force  them  to  extortion.  They  have  no  inordinate"  military 
institution,  and  do  not  sell  the  sons  of  their  farmers;  and  they  have  never 
taken  so  active  a  j)arl  in  the  domestic  and  foreign  wars  of  Germany  as 


16  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

the  secular  princes.  Though  they  are  not  adept  in  encouraging  their 
subjects  in  art  culture,  varied  agriculture  has  been  developed  to  a  high 
degree  of  perfection  throughout  the  region.  Nature  does  of  its  own 
accord  what  laws  and  regulations  seek  to  compel,  as  soon  as  the  rocks 
of  offence  are  removed  from  the  path.^ 

Henry  Swinburne,  whose  letters  to  his  brother  were  published 
long  after  his  death  under  the  title  of  "The  Courts  of  Europe," 
writes  under  date  of  November  29,  1780: 

Bonn  is  a  pretty  town,  neatly  built,  and  its  streets  tolerably  well 
paved,  all  in  black  lava.  It  is  situated  in  a  flat  near  the  river.  The 
Elector  of  Cologne's  palace  faces  the  South  entry.  It  has  no  beauty 
of  architecture  and  is  all  plain  white  without  any  pretensions. 

We  went  to  court  and  were  invited  to  dine  with  the  Elector  (Konigs- 
egge).  He  is  73  years  old,  a  little,  hale,  black  man,  very  merry  and 
affable.  His  table  is  none  of  the  best;  no  dessert  wines  handed  about, 
nor  any  foreign  wines  at  all.  He  is  easy  and  agreeable,  having  lived 
all  his  life  in  ladies'  company,  which  he  is  said  to  have  liked  better  than 
his  breviary.  The  captains  of  his  guard  and  a  few  other  people  of  the 
court  form  the  company,  amongst  whom  were  his  two  great -nieces, 
Madame  de  Hatzfeld  and  Madame  de  Taxis.  The  palace  is  of  immense 
size,  the  ball-room  particularly  large  and  low.  .  .  .  The  Elector  goes 
about  to  all  the  assemblies  and  plays  at  Tric-trac.  He  asked  me  to  be 
of  his  party  but  I  was  not  acquainted  with  their  way  of  playing.  There 
is  every  evening  an  assembly  or  play  at  court.  The  Elector  seems  very 
strong  and  healthy,  and  will,  I  think,  hold  the  Archduke  a  good  tug  yet. 

This  Archduke  was  Max  Franz,  youngest  son  of  Maria 
Theresia,  whose  acquaintance  Swinburne  had  made  in  Vienna, 
and  who  had  just  been  chosen  coadjutor  to  Max  Friedrich.  A 
curious  proof  of  the  liberality,  not  to  say  laxity,  of  the  Elector's 
sentiments  in  one  direction  is  given  by  Stramberg  in  his  "Rhei- 
nischer  Antiquarius,"  to  wit,  the  possession  of  a  mistress  in  common 
by  him  and  his  minister  Belderbusch — the  latter  fathering  the 
children — and  this  mistress  was  the  Countess  Caroline  von 
Satzenhofen,  Abbess  of  Vilich! 

The  reduction  which  was  made  by  Belderbusch  upon  the 
accession  of  Max  Friedrich  in  the  expenses  of  the  theatre  and 
other  amusements  does  not  appear,  except  in  the  case  of  the  chapel- 
master,  to  have  extended  to  the  court  music  proper,  nor  to  have 
been  long  continued  in  respect  to  the  "operetta  and  comedy." 
The  first  in  order  of  the  documents  and  notices  discovered  relat- 
ing to  the  musical  establishment  of  this  Elector  are  of  no  common 
interest,  being  the  petition  of  a  candidate  for  the  vacant  oflBce  of 

»"Briefe,"  II.  354,  355. 


Chapelmaster  Ludwig  van  Beethoven     17 

chapelmaster  and  the  decree  appointing  him  to  that  position. 
They  are  as  follows: 

Very  Reverend  Archbishop  and  Elector 
most  gracious  Lord  Lord! 

May  it  please  Your  Electoral  Grace  to  permit  a  representation  of 
my  faithfully  and  dutifully  performed  services  for  a  considerable  space 
as  vocalist  as  well  as,  since  the  death  of  the  chapelmaster,  for  more  than 
a  year  his  duties  in  Dupplo,  that  is  to  say  by  singing  and  wielding  the 
baton  concerning  which  my  demand  still  remains  ad  referendum  much 
less  have  I  been  assured  of  the  position.  Inasmuch  as  because  of  par- 
ticular recommendation  Dousmoulin  was  preferred  over  me,  and  indeed 
unjustly,  I  have  been  forced  hitherto  to  submit  to  fate. 

But  now,  gracious  Elector  and  Lord,  that  because  of  the  reduction 
in  salaries  Chapelmaster  Dousmoulin  has  already  asked  his  demission 
or  will  soon  do  so,  and  I  at  the  command  of  Baron  Belderbusch  am  to 
begin  de  novo  to  fill  his  office,  and  the  same  must  surely  be  replaced, — 
Therefore 

There  reaches  Your  Electoral  Grace  my  humble  petition  that  you 
may  graciously  be  pleased  (:  inasmuch  as  the  "Toxal"  must  be  suffi- 
ciently supplied  with  musique,  and  I  must  at  all  events  take  the  lead  in 
the  occurring  church  ceremonies  in  puncto  the  chorales:)  to  grant  me 
the  justice  of  which  I  was  deprived  on  the  death  of  Your  Highness's 
antecessori  of  blessed  memory,  and  appoint  me  chapelmaster  with  some 
augmentation  of  my  lessened  salary  because  of  my  services  performed 
in  Duplo.  For  which  highest  grace  I  shall  pour  out  my  prayers  to  God 
for  the  long  continuing  health  and  government  of  your  Electoral  Grace, 
while  in  deepest  submission  I  throw  myself  at  your  feet. 

Your 

Electoral  Grace's 

most  humble  servant 

Ludwig  van  Beethoven 
"Passist." 

M.  F.  Whereas  We,  Maximilian  Friedrich,  Elector  of  Cologne,  on 
the  demission  of  our  former  chapelmaster  Touche  Moulin,  and  the 
humble  petition  of  our  bass  singer  Ludwig  van  Beethoven  have  appointed 
the  latter  to  be  chapelmaster  with  the  retention  of  his  position  as  bass 
singer,  and  have  added  97  rthlr.  species  40  alb.  to  his  former  salary 
of  292  rthlr.  species  40  alb.  per  annum  divided  in  quartaUcn,  which 
appointment  is  hereby  made  and  payment  ordered  by  our  grace,  our 
exchequer  and  all  whom  it  may  concern  are  called  on  to  observe  the 
fact  and  do  what  is  required  under  the  circumstances. 

Attest,  etc.  Bonn,  July  10,  176L 

Next  in  order,  at  an  interval  of  rather  more  than  a  year,  is 
the  following  short  pai)er  in  reply  to  a  petition,  not  preserved,  of 
the  new  cliapelmaster's  son: 

S^npplicanten  is  hereby  graciously  assured  that  in  the  event  of  a 
vacatur  of  a  court  musician's  salary  he  shall  have  special  consideration. 


18  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

Attest  our  gracious  sign  manual  and  the  impress  of  the  seal  of  the  Privy 
Chancellary. 

Bonn,  November  27,  1762.  Max  Fried.  Elector. 

V.  Belderbusch,  (:L.  S. :) 

About  December,  1763,  a  singer,  Madame  Lentner,  after 
some  four  and  a  half  years  of  service,  threw  up  her  appointment, 
giving  occasion,  through  the  vacancy  thus  caused,  for  the  follow- 
ing petition,  report  and  decrees: 

Most  Reverend  Elector,  Most  Gracious 
Lord,  Lord. 

Will  Your  Electoral  Grace  deign  to  receive  the  representation  that 
by  the  acceptance  of  service  elsewhere  of  Court  Musician  Dauber  there 
.has  fallen  to  the  disposition  of  Your  Reverend  Electoral  Grace  a  salary 
of  1,050  rth.,  wherefore  I,  Joannes  van  Beethoven,  having  graciously 
been  permitted  for  a  considerable  time  to  serve  as  court  musician  and 
have  been  graciously  assured  by  decree  of  appointment  to  the  first 
vacancy,  and  have  always  faithfully  and  diligently  performed  my  duties 
and  graciously  been  permitted  to  be  in  good  voice,  therefore  my  prayer  is 
made  to  Your  Reverend  and  Electoral  Grace  for  a  grant  of  the  aforesaid 
1,050  rth.  or  a  gracious  portion  thereof,  which  act  of  highest  grace  I 
shall  try  to  merit  by  fidelity  and  zeal  in  the  performance  of  my  duties. 

Your 
Reverend  Electoral  Grace's 
most  obedient  servant 
Joannes  van  Beethoven, 
vocalist. 


This  petition  was  seconded  by  the  father  in  the  following 
manner: 

Most  Reverend  Archbishop  and  Elector, 
Most  gracious  Lord,  Lord. 

Your  Electoral  Grace  having  graciously  been  pleased  to  submit  for 
my  humble  report  the  humble  petition  of  Your  Highness's  court  musician 
Joann  Ries  that  his  daughter  be  appointed  to  the  place  in  the  court 
music  of  Your  Highness  made  vacant  by  the  discharged  soprano  Lentner 
sub  Liu.  A. 

Humbly  obeying  Your  gracious  command  I  submit  an  impartial 
report  that  for  about  a  year  the  daughter  of  the  court  musician  Ries 
has  frequented  the  "Due  sahl"  (doxal)  and  sung  the  soprano  part  and 
that  to  my  satisfaction. 

But  now  that  my  son  Joannes  van  Beethoven  has  already  for  13 
years  sung  soprano,  contralto  and  tenor  in  every  emergency  that  h.as 
arisen  on  the  "Due  sahl,"  is  also  capable  on  the  violin,  wherefore  Your 
Reverend  Electoral  Grace  27  Novembris  1762  granted  the  accompanying 
decree  graciously  bearing  your  own  high  sign  manual  sub  Litt.  B. 


JoHANX  VAX  Beethovex's  Salary  19 

My  humble  and  obedient  but  not  anticipatory  opinion  is  that  the 
court  singer  Lentner's  vacated  salary  ad  300  fl.  (:  who  went  away  without 
the  gracious  permission  of  Your  Highness  over  a  quarter  of  a  year  ago 
and  reported  to  me  in  specie  she  was  going  without  permission  and  would 
not  return  :)  be  graciously  divided  so  that  my  son  be  decreed  to  receive 
200  florins  and  the  daughter  of  Court  Musician  Ries  100  fl. 

Zu  Ewr.  Churfiirst.  gnaden  besidndige  hidden  und  gnaden  mich  unter- 
thdnigst  erlassendt  in  tieff ester  submission  ersierbe. 

Your  Reverend  Electoral  Grace's 

most  humble  and  obedient 

Ludwig  van  Beethoven, 

Chapel  Master. 

Increase  of  salary  of  100  rthr.  for  Court  Musician  Beethoven. 

M.  F. 

Whereas  We,  Maximilian  Friedrich.  Elector  of  Cologne,  on  the 
humble  petition  of  our  court  musician  Johann  van  Beethoven,  have 
shown  him  the  grace  to  allow  him  100  rthr.  out  of  the  salary  vacated 
by  the  departure  of  the  singer  Lentner  to  be  paid  annually  in  quartalien 
we  hereby  confirm  the  allowance;  for  which  this  decree  is  graciously 
promulgated  to  be  observed  by  our  Electoral  exchequer  which  is  to 
govern  itself  accordingly. 

Attest    p.  Bonn,  April  24,  1764. 

Under  the  same  date  a  decree  was  issued  appointing  Anna 
Maria  Ries,  daughter  of  Johann  Ries,  Court  Singer,  w^ith  a  salary 
of  100  th.  also  out  of  that  of  the  Lentner.  A  few  days  later  the 
following  action  was  taken: 

M.  F.  E. 

To  the  Electoral  Exchequer  touching  the  appointment  of  Court  Musician 

Beethoven  and  the  Singer  Ries. 

You  are  hereby  graciously  informed  that  our  court  musician  Bet- 
hoven  junior  and  the  singer  Ries  will  soon  lay  before  you  two  decrees  of 
appointment.  Now  inasmuch  as  with  this  the  salary  of  the  former 
singer  Lentner  is  disposed  of  but  since  she  received  an  advance  of  37)2 
rth.  from  our  Master  of  Revenues  and  18  rth.  spec,  was  paid  to  her 
creditors  we  graciously  command  you  herewith  so  to  arrange  the  pay- 
ment of  the  two  salaries  that  the  advance  from  the  Reveiuies  and  then 
the  payment  to  the  creditors  be  covered  from  the  lycntiicr's  salary;  and 
that  until  this  is  done  the  salaries  of  the  bcforementioned  Ries  and 
Bethoven  do  not  begin. 

We  etc.  Bonn,  April  27,  1764. 

On  April  3,  1778,  Anna  ]\Laria  Ries  received  an  additional 
100  fl.  A  few  more  documents  lead  us  to  the  family  of  Joluuui 
Peter  Salomon: 


20  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

ad  Supplicam  Philip  Salomon. 

To  inform  our  chapelmaster  van  Betthoven  appointed  on  his 
humble  petition  that  we  are  not  minded  to  grant  the  letter  prayed  for 
to  the  Prince  v.  Sulkowsky,  but  in  case  his  son  is  not  returned  by  the 
beginning  of  the  coming  month  Sbris,  we  are  graciously  determined  to 
make  disposition  of  his  place  and  salary. 

Attest.     Miinster,  August  8,   1764. 
Sent,  the  22  dito. 

In  spite  of  this  order  on  July  1,  1765,  the  Elector  gave  a 
document  to  the  son,  Johann  Peter  Salomon,  certifying  that  he 
had  served  him  faithfully  and  diligently  and  had  "so  conducted 
himself  as  to  deserve  to  be  recommended  to  every  one  according 
to  his  station."^  On  petition  of  Philipp  Salomon,  the  father,  he 
,  and  his  daughter  were  appointed  Court  Musicians  by  decree  dated 
August  11,  1764. 

Several  papers,  dated  April  26,  1768,  although  upon  matters 
of  very  small  importance,  have  a  certain  interest  as  being  in  part 
official  communications  from  the  pen  of  Chapelmaster  van  Beet- 
hoven, and  illustrating  in  some  measure  his  position  and  duties. 
They  show,  too,  that  his  path  was  not  always  one  bordered  with 
roses.     Being  self-explanatory  they  require  no  comment: 

I. 

Most  Reverend  Archbishop  and  Elector, 
Most  Gracious  Lord,  Lord. 

Will  Your  Electoral  Grace  deign  to  listen  to  the  complaint  that 
when  Court  Singer  Schwachhofer  was  commanded  in  obedience  to  an 
order  of  His  Excellency  Baron  von  Belderbusch  to  alternate  with  Jaco- 
bina  Salomon  in  the  singing  of  the  solos  in  the  church  music  as  is  the 
custom,  the  said  Schwachhofer  in  the  presence  of  the  entire  chapel  im- 
pertinently and  literally  answered  me  as  follows :  I  will  not  accept  your 
ordre  and  you  have  no  right  to  command  me. 

Your  Electoral  Grace  will  doubtless  recall  various  disordre  on  the 
part  of  the  court  chapel  indicating  that  all  respect  and  ordonance  is 
withheld  from  me,  each  member  behaving  as  he  sees  fit,  which  is  very 
painful  to  my  sensibilities. 

Wherefore  my  humble  prayer  reaches  Your  Electoral  Highness 
that  the  public  affront  of  the  Schwachhofer  be  punished  to  my  deserved 
satisfaction  and  that  a  decree  issue  from  Your  Highness  to  the  entire 

^This  was  the  beginning  of  the  career  of  Salomon.  He  became  concertmaster 
to  Prince  Henry  of  Prussia,  played  in  Paris,  and  in  1781  took  up  a  residence  in  London 
where,  as  violinist  and  conductor,  he  became  brilliantly  active  and  successful.  He 
made  repeated  visits  to  Bonn,  once  in  1790,  when  he  was  on  his  way  to  London 
accompanied  by  Haydn. 


JOHANN   VAN   BeETHOVEN   NeEDS    MoRE    MoNEY  21 

chapel  that  at  the  cost  of  Your  Gracious  displeasure  or  punishment 
according  to  the  offence  my  ordre  shall  not  be  evaded. 

Your  Electoral  Grace's 

Humble  and  Most  Obedient  Servant 

Ludovicus  van  Beethoven. 

II. 

To  Chapelmaster  van  Beethoven 
Concerning  the  Court  Musicians. 

M.  F.  E. 
Receive  the  accompanying  Command  to  the  end  that  its  contents 
be  conveyed  to  all  of  our  court  musicians  or  be  posted  on  the  "toxal." 
We  remain,  etc. 

Bonn,  April  26,  1768. 

III. 

Command  respecting  the  Court  Musicians. 

Having  learned  with  displeasure  that  several  of  our  court  musicians 
have  tried  to  evade  the  ordre  issued  by  our  Chapel  Master  or  refused  to 
receive  them  from  him,  and  conduct  themselves  improperly  amongst 
themselves,  all  of  our  court  musicians  are  hereby  earnestly  commanded 
without  contradiction  to  obey  all  the  commands  given  by  our  Chapel 
Master  in  our  name,  and  bear  peaceful  relations  with  each  other,  since 
we  are  determined  to  proceed  with  rigor  against  the  guilty  to  the  extent 
of  dismissal  in  certain  cases. 

Sig.  Bonn,  April  26,  1768. 

On  November  17,  1769,  Johann  van  Beethoven  submits  a 
petition  in  which  he  exhibits  anew  his  genius  for  devising  metliods 
for  varying  the  spelling  of  his  own  name.  That  he  could  no 
longer  live  on  100  th.  salary  is  evident  when  it  is  remembered 
that  he  has  now  been  married  two  years;  but  as  there  were  sev- 
eral applicants  for  the  salary  which  had  fallen  to  the  disposal  of 
the  Elector,  it  was  divided  among  the  four  most  needy.  Beet- 
hoven's memorial  contains  a  fact  or  two  in  regard  to  his  duties 
as  Court  Musician  which  are  new: 

To 
His  Electoral  Grace 

of  Cologne,  etc.,  etc. 
The  Humble  Supplication 
and  Prayer 

of 
Johann  Bethof,  Court  Musician. 

Most  Reverend  Archbishop  and   Elector, 
Most  (iracious  Lord,   Lord. 

May  Your  Most  Reverend  Electoral  Grace,  graciously  permit  the 
presentation  of  this  humble  supplicandoy  how  for  many  years  I  have 


22  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

served  Your  Highness  faithfully  and  industriously  on  the  "Due  saahl" 
and  the  theatre,  and  also  have  given  instruction  in  various  supjecta 
concerning  the  aforesaid  service  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  Your 
Electoral  Grace,  and  am  engaged  now  in  study  to  perfect  myself  to 
this  end. 

My  father  also  joins  in  this  supplic  in  his  humble  capacity  of  the 
theatri  and  will  participate  in  the  gladness  should  Your  Electoral  Grace 
graciously  grant  the  favor;  as  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  live  on  the 
salary  of  100  th.  graciously  allowed  me,  I  pray  Your  Electoral  Grace 
to  bestow  upon  me  the  100  th.  left  at  Your  gracious  disposal  by  the 
death  of  Your  court  musician  Philip  Haveck;  to  merit  this  high  grace 
by  faithful  and  diligent  service  shall  be  my  greatest  striving. 

Your  Electoral  Grace's 
most  humble 

Joannes  Bethof, 
Court  Musician. 

In  answer  to  this  there  came  the  following  decree: 

Whereas  we.  Max.  Frid.  p.  on  the  death  of  Court  Musician  Philipp 
Haveck  and  the  submissive  petition  of  our  court  musician  Philipp 
Salomon  bestowed  upon  him  the  grace  of  adding  50  fl.  for  his  two  daughters 
to  the  salary  which  he  already  enjoys  out  of  the  salary  of  the  above 
mentioned  Haveck  per  year;  we  confirm  the  act  hereby;  wherefore  we 
have  graciously  issued,  this  decree,  which  our  Electoral  Court  Exchequer 
will  humbly  observe  and  make  all  necessary  provisions. 

Attest,  p.  Munster,   17th  9bris   1769. 
(On  the  margin:)  "Gracious  addition  of  50  fl.  for  the  court  musician 
Philipp  Salomon"  and,  besides  Brandt  and  Meuris,  also  "m  simili  for 
Court  Musician  Joann  Bethoff  25  fl." 

There  need  be  no  apology  for  filling  a  few  more  pages  with 
extracts  from  documents  found  in  the  Dusseidorf  archives;  for 
now  a  period  has  been  reached  in  which  the  child  Ludwig  van 
Beethoven  is  growing  up  into  youth  and  early  manhood,  and 
thrown  into  constant  contact  with  those  whose  names  will  appear. 
Some  of  these  names  will  come  up  many  years  later  in  Vienna; 
others  wall  have  their  parts  to  play  in  the  narrative  of  that  child's 
life.  Omitting,  for  the  present,  a  petition  of  Johann  van  Beet- 
hoven, w^e  begin  them  with  that  of  Joseph  Demmer,  of  date  Janu- 
ary 23,  1773,  which  first  secured  him  his  appointment  after  a  year's 
service  and  three  months'  instruction  from  "the  young  Mr.  van 
Beethoven." 

Most  Reverend  Archbishop  and  Elector, 
Most  Gracious  Lord,  etc.,  etc. 

I  have  been  accepted  as  chorister  in  the  cathedral  of  this  city  at 
a  salary  of  80  th.  per  year,  and  have  so  practised  myself  in  music  that 


Joseph  Demmer  Succeeds  Beethoven  23 

I  humbly  flatter  myself  of  my  ability  to  perform  my  task  with  the  highest 
satisfaction. 

It  being  graciously  known  that  the  bass  singer  van  Beethoven  is 
incapacitated  and  can  no  longer  serve  as  such,  and  the  contra-bassist 
Noisten  can  not  adapt  his  voice:  therefore  this  my  submissive  to  Your 
Reverend  Electoral  Grace  that  you  graciously  be  pleased  to  accept  me 
as  your  bass  singer  with  such  gracious  salary  as  may  seem  fit;  I  offer 
should  it  be  demanded  to  attend  the  operettas  also  and  qualify  myself 
in  a  short  time.  It  depends  upon  a  mere  hint  from  Your  Electoral 
Grace  alone;  that  it  shall  not  be  burdensome  to  the  cantor's  office  of 
the  cathedral  to  save  the  loss  of  the  80  th.  yearly  which  it  has  bestowed 
upon  me. 

I  am  in  most  dutiful  reverence 

Your  Electoral  Grace's 

most  obedient 

Joseph  Demmer. 

Pro  Memoria. 

Cantor  Demmer  earned  at  the  utmost  106  rth.  per  year  if  he 
neglected  none  of  the  greater  or  little  Horis. 

Pays  the  Chamber  Chancellor  Kugelgen 
for  board,  annually,    66  rth. 
for  quartier  (lodging)  12  rth. 
moreover,  he  must  find  himself  in  clothes  and  washing  since  his  father, 
the  sub-sacristan  in  Cologne,  is  still  overburdened  with  6  children. 
He  has  paid  6  rth.  to  young  Mr.  Beethoven  for  3  months. 

In  response  to  another  petition  after  the  death  of  L.  van 
Beethoven  the  following  decree  was  issued: 

Decree  as  Court  vocal  bass  for  Joseph  Demmer. 

■\Miereas  His  Electoral  Grace  of  Cologne,  M.  F.  our  most  gracious 
Lord,  on  the  humble  petition  of  Joseph  Demmer  has  graciously  appointed 
and  accepted  him  as  His  Higlmess's  vocal  bass  on  the  Electoral  Toxal, 
with  a  yearly  salary  of  200  fl.  divided  in  quarlallen  to  begin  with  the 
current  time,  the  ap[)ointment  is  confirmed  hereby  and  a  decree  granted 
to  the  same  Demmer,  of  which,  for  purposes  of  payment,  the  Electoral 
Chancellary  will  take  notice  and  all  whom  it  may  concern  will  respect 
and  obey  the  same  and  otherwise  do  what  is  necessary  in  the  premises. 
Attest,  p.  Bonn,  May  29,  1774. 

Two  years  later  leave  of  absence,  but  without  salary,  was 
granted  to  Joseph  Demmer  to  visit  Amsterdam  to  complete  liis 
education  in  music.     Further  notes  from    documentary  sources: 

1774.  May  26.  Andreas  Lucchcsi  appointed  Court  Chapelmastcr  in 
place  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven,  deceased,  with  a  salary  of 
1,000  fl. 
May  29.  Salary  of  Anna  Maria  Ries  raised  from  2.50  fl.  to  300  fl. 
On  May  13,  177.'),  together  with  Ferdinand  Trewcr  (Drewer), 
violinist,  she  receives  leave  of  absence  for  four    months,  to 


24  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

begin  in  June  with  two  quarters'  pay  in  advance.  In  the 
Court  Calendar  for  1775,  which  was  printed  about  seven 
months  in  advance,  she  is  aheady  described  as  Madame 
Drewers,  nee  Ries.  She  was  considered  the  best  singer  in 
the  chapel. 
"November  23.  Franz  Anton  Ries  has  granted  him  25  th. 
payable  quarterly. 

1775.  March  23.  Nicolas  Simrock  appointed  on  petition  "Court  Hornist 
on  the  Electoral  Toxal,  in  the  cabinet  and  at  table,"  and  a 
salary  of  300  fl.  was  granted  April  1.  This  is  the  first  appear- 
ance in  these  records  of  a  name  which  afterwards  rose  into 
prominence. 

1777.  April  20.  B.  J.  Maurer,  violoncellist,  "who  has  served  in  the 
court  chapel  from  the  beginning  of  the  year  till  now  on  a 
promise  of  100  th.,"  prays  for  an  appointment  as  court  'cellist 
at  a  salary  of  400  th.  Appointed  at  a  salary  of  200  th.;  we 
shall  have  occasion  to  recur  to  him  presently  in  connection 
with  notices  touching  Beethoven. 

Under  date  May  22,  1778,  J.  van  Beethoven  informs  the 
Elector  that  "the  singer  Averdonck,  who  is  to  be  sent  to  Chapel- 
master  Sales  at  Coblenz,  is  to  pay  15  jBl.  per  month  for  board  and 
lodging  but  that  only  a  douceur  is  to  be  asked  for  her  instruction 
and  that  to  take  her  thither  will  cost  20  th."  There  followed 
upon  this  the  following  document: 

To  the  humble  announcement  of  Court  Musician  Beethoven 
touching  the  singer  Averdonck. 

Electoral  Councillor  Forlivesi  is  to  pay  to  the  proper  authorities 
for  a  year  beginning  next  month,  15  fl.  a  month  and  for  the  travelling 
expenses  20  rth.  once  and  for  all  as  soon  as  the  journey  is  begun.  Attest, 
p.  Bonn,  May  22,  1778. 

This  pupil  of  Johann  van  Beethoven,  Johanna  Helena  Aver- 
donk,  born  in  Bonn  on  December  11,  1760,  and  brought  forward 
by  her  teacher  at  a  concert  in  Cologne,  received  120  th.  "as  a 
special  grace"  on  July  2,  and  was  appointed  Court  Singer  on 
November  18,  1780,  with  a  salary  of  200  th."  She  died  nine 
years  later,  August  13,  1789. 

The  petitions  sent  in  to  the  Elector  were  rarely  dated  and 
were  not  always  immediately  attended  to;  therefore  the  date  of 
a  decretum  is  not  to  be  taken  as  conclusive  in  regard  to  the  date  of 
facts  mentioned  in  a  petition.  An  illustration  is  afforded  by  a 
petition  of  Franz  Ries.  He  has  returned  from  a  tour  to  Vienna 
and  prays  for  a  salary  of  500  fl.  "not  the  half  of  what  he  can  earn 
elsewhere."  The  petition  is  dated  March  2.  Two  months  passing 
without  bringing  him  an  answer,  he  petitions  again  and  obtains 


Opera  at  the  Elector's  Court  25 

a  decree  on  May  2  that  in  addition  to  his  salary  of  28  th,  2  alb. 
6,  he  shall  receive  "annoch  so  viel," — again  as  much, — i.  e., 
400  fl. 

1780.  August.     Court  Organist  Van  den  Eede  prays  that  in  considera- 

tion of  his  service  of  5-i  years  he  be  graciously  and  charitably 
given  the  salary  vacated  by  the  death  of  Court  Musician 
Salomon.  Eighteen  others  make  the  same  prayer.  The 
decision  of  the  privy  council  is  in  these  words:  "To  be  divided 
between  Huttenus  and  Esch.  A  decree  as  musical  vocalist 
must  first  be  given  to  the  latter." 

1781.  February  15.   The  name  of  C.  G.  Neefe  is  now  met  with  for  the  first 

time.  He  petitions  for  appointment  to  the  position  of  organist 
in  succession  to  Van  den  Eede,  obviously  aged  and  infirm.  A 
decree  was  issued  ''placet  et  expediatur  on  the  death  of  Organist 
Van  den  Eede,"  and  a  salary  of  400  fl.  granted. 

1782.  May  16.     Johann  van  Beethoven  petitions  for  "the  three  measures 

(M alter)  of  corn." 

The  archives  of  Dusseldorf  furnish  little  more  during  the 
time  of  Max  Frederick  save  certain  papers  relating  to  the  Beet- 
hoven family,  which  are  reserved  for  another  place. 

The  search  for  means  to  form  some  correct  idea  of  the  char- 
acter of  the  musical  performances  at  the  Elector's  court  during 
this  reign  has  been  more  successful  than  for  the  preceding;  but 
much  is  left  to  be  desired  down  to  the  year  1778,  when  the  theatre 
was  placed  upon  a  different  basis  and  its  history  is  suflSciently 
recorded.  Such  notices,  however,  in  relation  to  the  operatic  enter- 
tainments as  have  been  found  scattered,  mostly  in  the  newspapers 
of  Bonn,  in  those  years,  are  numerous  enough  to  give  an  idea  of 
their  character;  while  the  remarks  upon  the  festivities  of  the 
court,  connected  with  them,  afford  a  pretty  lively  picture  of  social 
amusement  in  the  highest  circle.  We  make  room  for  some  of  the 
most  significant  occurrences,  in  chronological  order: 

17G4.  January  3.  Galuppi's  opera  "II  Filosofo  di  Campagna,"  given 
in  the  Electoral  Theatre  with  great  applause. 

January  8.  A  grand  assembly  at  the  palace  in  the  afternoon, 
a  magnificent  supper  in  the  grand  gallery  at  which  many 
spectators  were  present,  and  finally  a  masked  ball. 

March  2.3.  Second  performance  of  "La  buona  Figliuola,"  nmsic 
by  Piccini. 

May  13.  Elector's  birthday;  "Le  Nozze,"  music  by  Galuppi,  and 
two  ballets. 

May  20.  "II  Filosofo"  again,  the  notice  of  which  is  followed 
by  the  remark  that  the  Elector  is  almut  removing  to  Bruhl 
for  the  summer  but  will  visit  Bonn  twice  a  week  "on  the  days 
when  operas  are  performed." 


26  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

September  21.     "La  Pastorella  al  Soglio"  (composer  not  named, 
probably  Latilla),  and  two  ballets. 

December  16.  "La  Calamita  di  cuori,"  by  Galuppi,  and  two 
ballets.  This  was  "the  first  performance  by  the  Mingotti 
company  under  the  direction  of  Rizzi  and  Romanini." 
1765.  January  6.  "Le  Aventure  di  Rodolfo"  (Piccini?),  given  by  the 
same  company  together  with  a  pantomime,  "L'Arlequino 
fortunato  per  la  Maggia."  After  the  play  there  was  a  grand 
supper  at  which  the  Pope's  nuncio  was  a  guest,  and  finally  a 
masked  ball  kept  up  till  6  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

1767.  May  13.     The  Archbishop's  birthday.     Here  is  the  programme 

condensed  from  the  long  description  of  the  festivities  in  the 
"Bonnischer  Anzeiger":  1,  Early  in  the  morning  three  rounds 
from  the  cannon  on  the  city  walls;  2,  The  court  and  public 
graciously  permitted  to  kiss  His  Transparency's  hand;  3, 
solemn  high  mass  with  salvos  of  artillery;  4,  Grand  dinner  in 
public,  the  pope's  nuncio,  the  foreign  ministers  and  the  nobility 
being  the  guests  and  the  eating  being  accompanied  by  "ex- 
quisite table-music";  5,  After  dinner  "a  numerously  attended 
assembly";  6,  "A  serenata  composed  especially  for  this  most 
joyful  day"  and  a  comic  opera  in  the  palace  theatre;  7,  Supper 
of  130  covers;  8,  Bal  masque  until  5  a.  m.  The  two  dramatic 
pieces  were  "Serenata  festivale,  tra  Bacco,  Diana  ed  il  Reno," 
the  authors  unnamed,  and  "Schiava  finta,"  drama  giocoso  dal 
celebre  don  Francesco  Garzia,  Spagnuolo,  the  music  probably  by 
Piccini;  "Giovanni  van  Beethoven"  sang  the  part  of  Dorindo. 

1768.  May  16.     "On  the  stage  of  the  Court  Theatre  was  performed  with 

much  applause  a  musical  poem  in  German,  specially  written 
for  the  birthday  of  His  Highness,  and  afterward  an  Italian 
intermezzo  entitled  'La  Nobilta  delusa.'  " 

1769.  The  festivities  in  honor  of  the  birthday  of  the  Elector  took  place 

May  17th,  when,  according  to  the  "Anzeiger,"  "an  Italian 
musical  drama  written  expressly  for  this  occasion  was  per- 
formed"— but  the  title  suggests  the  possibility  of  a  mistake; 
"II  Riso  d'Apolline,"  with  music  by  Betz,  had  been  heard  in 
1701. 

1771.  A  single  discovery  only  for  this  year  has  rewarded  search,  that 

of  a  text-book,  one  of  particular  interest:  "Silvain,"  comedie  en 
une  acte,  melee  d'ariettes,  representee,  etc.  Text  by  Marmon- 
tel,  music  by  Gretry.  Dolmon  pcre,  Mons.  Louis  van  Beet- 
hoven, Maiire  de  Chapelle;  Dolmon,  fils  aine,  Jean  van  Beet- 
hoven, etc. 

1772,  February  27.     "Le  Donne  sempre  Donne,"   music  by  Andreas 

Lucchesi. 

In  March,  on  occasion  of  the  opening  of  the  Estates,  "La  Con- 

tadine  in  Corte,"  music  by  Sacchini. 
The  pieces  given  on  the  birthday  this  year  were  "II  Natal  di 

Giove,"  music  by  Lucchesi,  and  "La  buona  Figliuola,"  music 

by  Piccini.     On  the  17th  the  latter  was  repeated  on  the  arrival 

of  the  French  ambassador. 


Versatility  of  the  Court  Musicians  27 

1773.  May  30.  The  Elector's  birthday;  "LTnganno  scoperto,  overo  il 
Conte  Caramella,"  music  by  Lucchesi,  in  which  Ludovico  van 
Beethoven  sang  the  part  of  Brunoro,  contadino  e  tamburino. 

There  are  three  more  operettas  which  evndently  belong  to 
the  succeeding  winter  when  the  Bonn  company  had  the  aid  of 
two  singers  from  the  electoral  court  of  Treves.  Their  titles  are 
"LTmprovvisata,  o  sia  la  Galanteria  disturbata,"  by  Lucchesi,  "Li 
tre  Amanti  ridicoli,"  by  Galuppi,  and  "La  Moda,"  by  Baroni. 
Ludwig  van  Beethoven  did  not  sing  in  them.  The  means  are  still 
wanting  to  fill  up  the  many  gaps  in  the  annals  of  this  period  or  to 
carry  them  on  during  the  next  three  years.  Perhaps,  however,  the 
loss  is  not  of  much  importance,  for  the  materials  collected  are 
sufficient  to  warrant  certain  conclusions  in  regard  to  the  general 
character  of  the  court  music.  The  musicians,  both  vocal  and 
instrumental,  were  employed  in  the  church,  concert-room  and 
theatre;  their  number  remained  without  material  change  from 
the  days  of  Christopher  Petz  to  the  close  of  Chapelmaster  van 
Beethoven's  life;  places  in  this  service  were  held  to  be  a  sort  of 
heritage,  and  of  right  due  to  the  children  of  old  incumbents,  when 
possessed  of  sufficient  musical  talent  and  knowledge;  few  if  any 
names  of  distinguished  virtuosos  are  found  in  the  lists  of  the  mem- 
bers, and,  in  all  probability,  the  performances  never  rose  above 
the  respectable  mediocrity  of  a  small  band  used  to  playing 
together  in  the  light  and  pleasing  music  of  the  day. 

The  dramatic  performances  appear  to  have  been  confined  to 
the  operetta;  and  the  vocalists,  who  sang  the  Latin  of  the  mass, 
seem  to  have  been  required  to  be  equally  at  home  in  German, 
Italian  and  French  in  the  theatre.  Two  visits  of  the  Angelo 
Mingotti  troupe  are  noted;  and  one  attempt,  at  least,  to  place 
the  opera  upon  a  higher  basis  by  the  engagement  of  Italian  song- 
stresses, was  evidently  made  in  the  time  of  Clemens  August.; 
it  may  be  concluded  that  no  great  improvement  was  made — it  is 
certain  that  no  permanent  one  was;  for  in  the  other  case  the  Bonn 
theatrical  revolution  of  1778  had  not  been  needed.  This  must  be 
noticed  in  detail. 

Chronologically  the  following  sketch  belongs  to  the  biography 
of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven,  as  it  embraces  a  period  which  hui)j)ens 
in  his  case  to  be  of  special  interest,  young  as  he  was; — the  j)oriod 
from  his  8th  to  lu's  14tli  year.  But  the  details  given,  though  of 
great  importance  for  the  light  which  they  throw  upon  the  musical 
life  in  which  he  moved  and  acted,  v/ould  liardly  be  of  so  much 
interest  to  most  readers  as  to  justify  breaking  with  them  the  course 
of  the  future  narrative. 


28  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

It  was  a  period  of  great  awakening  in  theatrical  matters. 
Princes  and  courts  were  beginning  everywhere  in  Germany  to 
patronize  the  drama  of  their  mother  tongue  and  the  labors  of 
Lessing,  Gotter  and  other  well-known  names,  in  the  original  pro- 
duction of  German,  or  in  the  translation  of  the  best  English, 
Italian  and  French  plays,  were  justifying  and  giving  ever  new 
impulse  to  the  change  in  taste.  From  the  many  itinerant  troupes 
of  players  performing  in  booths,  or,  in  the  larger  cities,  in  the 
play-houses,  the  better  class  of  actors  were  slowly  finding  their 
way  into  permanent  companies  engaged  and  supported  by  the 
governments.  True,  many  of  the  newly  established  court  theatres 
had  but  a  short  and  not  always  a  very  merry  life;  true,  also,  that 
the  more  common  plan  was  merely  to  afford  aid  and  protection  to 
some  itinerant  troupe;  still  the  idea  of  a  permanent  national 
theatre  on  the  footing  of  the  already  long-existing  court  musical 
establishments  had  made  way,  and  had  already  been  carried  out  in 
various  places  before  it  was  taken  up  by  the  elector  at  Bonn.  It 
can  hardly  be  supposed  that  the  example  of  the  imperial  court  at 
Vienna,  with  the  immense  means  at  its  disposal,  could  exert  any 
direct  influence  upon  the  small  court  at  Bonn  at  the  other  extrem- 
ity of  Germany;  but  what  the  Duke  of  Gotha  and  the  elector  at 
Mannheim  had  undertaken  in  this  direction,  Max  Friedrich  may 
well  have  ventured  and  determined  to  imitate.  But  there  was 
an  example  nearer  home — in  fact  in  his  own  capital  of  Munster, 
where  he,  the  prince  primate,  usually  spent  the  summer.  In 
1775,  Dobbler's  troupe,  which  had  been  for  some  time  playing 
in  that  city,  was  broken  up. 

The  Westhus  brothers  in  Munster  built  up  their  own  out  of  the 
ruins;  but  it  endured  only  a  short  time.  Thereupon,  under  the  care  of 
the  minister,  H.  von  Furstenberg  (one  of  those  rare  men  whom  heaven 
elects  and  equips  with  all  necessary  gifts  to  cultivate  what  is  good  and 
beautiful  in  the  arts),  a  meeting  of  the  lovers  of  the  stage  was  arranged 
in  May  and  a  few  gentlemen  of  the  nobility  and  a  few  from  the  parterre 
formed  a  council  which  assumed  the  direction.  The  Elector  makes  a 
considerable  contribution.  The  money  otherwise  received  is  to  be 
applied  to  the  improvement  of  the  wardrobe  and  the  theatre.  The 
actors  receive  their  honoraria  every  month. ^ 

At  Easter,  1777,  Seyler,  a  manager  famous  in  German  theat- 
rical annals,  and  then  at  Dresden,  finding  himself  unable  to  com- 
pete with  his  rival,  Bondini,  left  that  city  with  his  company  to 
try  his  fortunes  in  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  Mayence,  and  other 
cities  in  that  quarter.     The  company  was  very  large — the  Theatre 

iReichardt,  "Theaterkalender,  1778,"  p.  99. 


Opeil\  and  Drola.  at  Bonn  in  1779  29 

Lexicon  (Article  "Mainz")  makes  it,  including  its  orchestra, 
amount  to  230  individuals! — much  too  large,  it  seems,  in  spite  of 
the  assertion  of  the  Theatre  Lexicon,  to  be  profitable.  Be  that 
as  it  may,  after  an  experience  of  a  year  or  more,  two  of  the  leading 
members,  Grossmann  and  Helmuth,  accepted  an  engagement 
from  Max  Friedrich  to  form  and  manage  a  company  at  Bonn  in 
order  that  "the  German  art  of  acting  might  be  raised  to  a  school 
of  morals  and  manners  for  his  people."  Taking  with  them  a 
pretty  large  portion  of  Seyler's  company,  including  several  of 
the  best  members,  the  managers  reached  Bonn  and  were  ready 
upon  the  Elector's  return  from  Miinster  to  open  a  season.  "The 
opening  of  the  theatre  took  place,"  says  the  Bonn  "Dramatur- 
gische  Nachrichten,"  "on  the  26th  of  November,  1778,  with  a 
prologue  spoken  by  Madame  Grossmann,  'WilhelmineBlondheim,' 
tragedy  in  three  acts  by  Grossmann,  and  'Die  grosse  Batterie,' 
comedy  in  one  act  by  Ayrenhofer."  The  same  authority  gives 
a  list  of  all  the  performances  of  the  season,  which  extended  to  the 
30th  of  May,  1779,  together  with  debuts,  the  dismissals  and  other 
matters  pertaining  to  the  actors.  The  number  of  the  evenings 
on  which  the  theatre  was  open  was  50.  A  five-act  play,  as  a  rule, 
occupied  the  whole  performance,  but  of  shorter  pieces  usually 
two  were  given;  and  thus  an  opening  was  found  occasionally  for  an 
operetta.  Of  musical  dramas  only  seven  came  upon  the  stage  and 
these  somewhat  of  the  lightest  order  except  the  first — the  melo- 
drama "Ariadne  auf  Naxos,"  music  by  Benda.     The  others  were: 

1779.  February  21.     "Julie,"  translated  from  the  French  by  Grossmann, 

music  by  Desaides. 
February  28.    "Die  Jager  und  das  Waldmadchen,"  operetta  in  one 

act,  music  by  Duni. 
March  21.     "Der  Hofschmied,"  in  two  acts,  music  by  Philidor. 
April  9.     "Roschen  und  Colas,"  in  one  act,  music  by  ISIonsigny. 
May  5.     "Dor  Fassbinder,"  in  one  act,  music  by  Oudinot. 
May    14.     A    proloj^uc   "Dedicated   to   the   Birthday   Festivities 

of  His  Electoral  Grace  of   Cologne,  May  13,  1779,  by  J.  A. 

Freyherrn  vom  Hagen." 

The  selection  of  dramas  was,  on  the  whole,  very  creditable  to 
the  taste  of  the  managers.  Five  of  Lessing's  works,  among  them 
"Minna  von  Barnhclin"  and  "Emih'a  Galotti,"  arc  in  tJic  list  and 
some  of  the  best  productions  of  Bock,  (iottcr,  Engcl  and  their 
contemporaries;  of  translations  there  were  Colman's  "Clandestine 
Marriage"  and  "Jealous  Wife,"  Garrick's  "Miss  in  her  Teens," 
Cumberland's  "West  Indian,"  Iloadly's  "Suspicious  Husband," 
Voltaire's  "Zaire"  and    "Jeannette,"   Bcaumarchais's   "Eugenie," 


so  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

two  or  three  of  the  works  of  Moliere,  and  Goldoni,  etc.; — in  short, 
the  Hst  presents  much  variety  and  excellence. 

Max  Friedrich  was  evidently  pleased  with  the  company,  for 
the  "Nachrichten"  has  the  following  in  the  catalogue  of  perform- 
ances: "On  the  8th  (of  April)  His  Electoral  Grace  was  pleased  to 
give  a  splendid  breakfast  to  the  entire  company  in  the  theatre.  .  .  . 
The  company  will  occupy  itself  until  the  return  of  His  Electoral 
Grace  from  Miinster,  which  will  be  in  the  middle  of  November, 
with  learning  the  newest  and  best  pieces,  among  which  are  'Ham- 
let,' 'King  Lear'  and  'Macbeth,'  which  are  to  be  given  also  with 
much  splendor  of  costume  according  to  the  designs  of  famous 
artists." 

It  may  be  remarked  here  that  the  "Bonn  Comedy  House" 
(for  painting  the  interior  of  which  Clemens  August  paid  468 
thalers  in  1751,  a  date  which  seems  to  fix  the  time  at  which  that 
end  of  the  palace  was  completed),  occupied  that  portion  of  the 
present  University  Archaeological  Museum  room  next  the  Coblenz 
Gate,  with  large  doors  opening  from  the  stage  into  the  passage- 
way so  that  this  space  could  be  used  as  an  extension  of  the  stage 
in  pieces  requiring  it  for  the  production  of  grand  scenic  effects. 
Above  the  theatre  was  the  "Redouten-Saal"  of  Max  Franz's 
time.  The  Elector  had,  of  course,  an  entrance  from  the  passages 
of  the  palace  into  his  box.  The  door  for  the  public,  in  an  angle 
of  the  wall  now  built  up,  opened  out  upon  the  grove  of  horse- 
chestnuts.  The  auditorium  was  necessarily  low,  but  spacious 
enough  for  several  hundred  spectators.  Though  much  criticized 
by  travellers  as  being  unworthy  so  elegant  a  court,  not  to  say 
shabby,  it  seems  to  have  been  a  nice  and  snug  little  theatre. 

Meanwhile  affairs  with  Seyler  were  drawing  to  a  crisis.  He 
had  returned  with  his  company  from  Mannheim  and  reopened  at 
Frankfort,  August  3,  1779.  On  the  evening  of  the  17th,  to  escape 
imprisonment  as  a  bankrupt,  whether  through  his  own  fault  or 
that  of  another — the  Theatre  Lexicon  aflBrms  the  latter  case — he 
took  his  wife  and  fled  to  Mayence.  The  company  was  allowed 
by  the  magistrates  to  play  a  few  weeks  with  a  view  of  earning  at 
least  the  means  of  leaving  the  city;  but  on  October  4,  its  mem- 
bers began  to  separate;  Benda  and  his  wife  went  to  Berlin,  but  C. 
G.  Neefe,  the  music  director,  and  Opitz,  descended  the  Rhine 
to  Bonn  and  joined  the  company  there — Neefe  assuming  tempo- 
rarily the  direction  of  the  music  in  the  theatre — of  which  more  in 
another  place. 

No  record  has  been  found  of  the  repertory  of  the  Bonn 
theatre  for  the  season  1779-1780,  except  that  the  opening  piece  on 


Another  Busy  Season  at  Bonn 


31 


December  3,  on  the  evening  after  the  Elector's  return  from  Mlin- 
ster,  was  a  prologue,  "Wir  haben  Ihn  wieder!"  text  by  Baron  vom 
Hagen,  with  airs,  recitatives  and  choruses  composed  by  Neefe; 
that  the  "Deserteur"  was  in  the  list,  and  finally  Hiller's  "Jagd." 
In  June,  1781,  the  season  being  over,  the  company  migrated  to 
Pyrmont,  from  Pyrmont  to  Cassel,  and  thence,  in  October,  back 
to  Bonn. 

The  season  of  1781-'82  was  a  busy  one;  of  musical  dramas 
alone  17  are  reported  as  newly  rehearsed  from  September,  1781, 
to  the  same  time  in  1782,  viz: 


"Die  Liebe  unter  den  Handwerkern" 

("L'Amore   Artigiano") Music 

"Robert  und  Calliste" 

"Der  Alchymist" : 

"Das  tartarische  Gesetz" 

"Der  eifersiichtige  Liebhaber" 

("L'Amantjaloux") 

"Der  Hausfreund" 

(;'L'Ami  de  la  Maison") 

"Die  Freundschaft  auf  der  Probe" 

("L'Amitie  a  rfipreuve") 

"Heinrich  und  Lyda" 

"Die  Apotheke" 

"Eigensinn  und  Launen  der  Liebe" 

"Romeo  und  Julie" 

"Sophonisba"  (Deklamation  mit  Musik) 

"Lucille" 

"Milton  und  Elmire" 

"Die  Samnitische  Vermahlungsfeier" 

("Le  Marriage  des  Samnites") 

"Ernst  und  Lucinde" 

"Gunther  von  Schwarzburg" 


by  Gassmann 
Guglielmi 
Schuster. 
d'Antoine  (of  Bonn) 

Gretry 

Gretry 

Gretry 

Neefe 

Neefe 

Deler  (Teller,  Deller.?) 

Benda 

Neefe 

Gretry 

Mihl  (or  Muhle) 

Gretry 
Gretry 
Holzbauer 


It  does  not  follow,  however,  that  all  these  operas,  operettas 
and  plays  with  music  were  produced  during  the  season  in  Bonn. 
The  company  followed  the  Elector  to  Miinster  in  June,  1782,  and 
removed  thence  to  PYankfort-on-the-Main  for  its  regular  series 
of  performances  at  Michaelmas.  It  came  back  to  Bonn  in  the 
Autumn. 

'J'he  season  1782-'83  was  as  active  as  the  preceding.  Some 
of  the  newly  rehearsed  sjjoken  drainas  were  "Sir  John  Falstaff," 
from  tlie  English,  translations  of  Sheridan's  "School  for  Scandal," 
Shakespeare's  "Lear,"  and  "Richard  III,"  Mrs.  Cowley's  "Who's 
the  Dupe?"  and,  of  original  German  plays,  Schiller's  "Fiesco" 
and  "Die  Ran  her,"  Lessing's  "Miss  Sara  Sampson,"  Schroeder's 
''Testament,"  etc.,  etc.     The  number  of  newlv  rehearsed  nmsical 


32  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

dramas — in  which  class  are  included  such  ballad  operas  as  General 
Burgoyne's  "Maid  of  the  Oaks" — reached  twenty,  viz: 

"Das   Rosenfest" Music  by  Wolf   (of  Weimar) 

"Azalia" "       "     Johann    Kuchler 

(Bassoonist  in  the 
Bonn  chapel) 

"Die  Sklavin"  {La  Schiava) "       "     Piccini 

"Zemire  et  Azor" "       "     Gretry 

"Das  Madchen  im  Eichthale"  "       " 

("Maid  of  the  Oaks") "       "     d'Antoine      (Captain 

in  the  army  of  the 
Elector  of  Cologne) 

"Der  Kaufmann  von  Smyrna" "       "     J.    A.    Juste    (Court 

Musician     in    The 
Hague) 

"Die  seidenen  Schuhe" "       "     Alexander  Frizer  (or 

Fridzeri) 

"Die  Reue  vor  der  That" "       "     Desaides 

"Der  Aerndtetanz" "       "     J.  A.  Hiller 

"Die  Olympischen  Spiele"   (Olympiade)     "       "     Sacchini 

"Die  LUgnerin  aus  Liebe" "       "     Salieri 

"Die  Italienerin  zu  London" "       "     Cimarosa 

"Das  gute  Madchen"  (La  huonafigliuola)     "       "     Piccini 

*'Der   Antiquitaten-Sammler" "       "     Andre 

"Die  Entfuhrung  aus  dem  Serail" "       "     Mozart 

"Die  Eifersucht  auf  der  Probe" 

(7/  Geloso  in  Cimento) "       "     Anfossi 

"Rangstreit  und  Eifersucht  auf  dem 

Lande"  (Le  Gelosie  villane) "       "     Sarti 

"Unverhofft    kommt    oft"    {Les    £vene- 

ments  imprevus) "       "     Gretry 

"Fehx,    Oder   der   Findling"    (Felix   ou 

r Enfant  trouve) "       "     Monsigny 

"Die  Pilgrimme  von  Mekka" "       "     Gluck 

But  a  still  farther  provision  has  been  made  for  the  Elector's 
amusement  during  the  season  of  1783-'84,  by  the  engagement  of 
a  ballet  corps  of  eighteen  persons.  The  titles  of  five  newly  re- 
hearsed ballets  are  given  in  the  report  from  which  the  above 
particulars  are  taken,  and  which  may  be  found  in  the  theatrical 
calendar  for  1784. 

With  an  enlarged  company  and  a  more  extensive  repertory, 
preparations  were  made  for  opening  the  theatre  upon  the  Elector's 
return,  at  the  end  of  October,  from  Miinster  to  Bonn.  But  the 
relations  of  the  company  to  the  court  have  been  changed.  Let 
the  "Theater-Kalender"  describe  the  new  position  in  which  the 
stage  at  Bonn  was  placed: 


An  Influence  on  the  Boy  Beethoven     33 

Bonn.  His  Electoral  Grace,  by  a  special  condescension,  had  gra- 
ciously determined  to  make  the  theatrical  performances  gratuitous  and 
to  that  end  has  closed  a  contract  with  His  Highness's  Theatrical  Director 
Grossmann  according  to  which  besides  the  theatre  free  of  rent,  the  illum- 
ination and  the  orchestra  he  is  to  receive  an  annual  subvention  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  company.  On  His  Highness's  command  there  will 
be  two  or  three  performances  weekly.  By  particular  grace  the  director 
is  permitted  to  spend  several  summer  months  in  other  places. 

The  advantages  of  this  plan  for  securing  a  good  repertory, 
a  good  company  and  a  zealous  striving  for  improvement  are  ob- 
vious; and  its  practical  working  during  this,  its  only,  season,  so 
far  as  can  now  be  gathered  from  scanty  records,  was  a  great  suc- 
cess. It  will  hereafter  be  seen  that  the  boy  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 
was  often  employed  at  the  pianoforte  at  the  rehearsals — possibly 
also  at  the  performances  of  the  company  of  which  Neefe  was  the 
musical  director.  That  a  company  consisting  almost  exclusively 
of  performers  who  had  passed  the  ordeal  of  frequent  appearance 
on  the  stage  and  had  been  selected  with  full  knowledge  of  the 
capacity  of  each,  and  which,  moreover,  had  gained  so  much  success 
at  the  Bonn  court  as  to  be  put  upon  a  permanent  footing,  must 
have  been  one  of  more  than  the  ordinary,  average  excellence,  at 
least  in  light  opera,  needs  no  argument.  Nor  need  comments 
be  made  upon  the  influence  which  daily  intercourse  with  it,  and 
sharing  in  its  labors,  especially  in  the  direction  of  opera,  must 
have  exerted  upon  the  mind  of  a  boy  of  twelve  or  thirteen  years 
possessed  of  real  musical  genius. 

The  theatrical  season,  and  with  it  the  company,  came  to  an 
untimely  end.  Belderbusch  died  in  January,  1784.  Madame 
Grossmann  died. in  childbed  on  March  28,  and  on  April  15 
the  Elector  followed  them  to  another  world.  After  the  death 
of  the  Elector  Maximilian  Friedrich  the  Court  Theatre  was  closed 
for  the  oflBcial  mourning  and  the  company  dismissed  with  four 
weeks'  salary. 

It  is  consonant  to  the  plan  of  this  introductory  chapter  that 
some  space  be  devoted  to  sketches  of  some  of  the  j)rincipal 
men  wliose  names  have  already  occurred  and  to  some  notes  upon 
the  musical  amateurs  of  Bonn  who  are  known,  or  may  be  supposed, 
to  have  been  friends  of  the  boy  Beethoven.  These  notices  make 
no  claim  to  the  credit  of  being  the  result  of  original  research;  they 
are,  except  that  of  Neefe,  little  more  than  extracts  from  a  letter, 
dated  March  2,  1783,  written  by  Neefe  and  printed  in  Cramer's 
"Magazin  der  Musik"  (Vol.  I,  pp.  337  ei  scq.).  At  that  time  the 
"Capelldirector,"   as    Neefe    calls    him,    was    Cajetano    Mattioli, 


34  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

born  at  Venice,  August  7,  1750,  whose  appointments  were  con- 
certmaster  and  musical  director  in  Bonn,  made  on  May  26,  1774 
and  April  24,  1777. 

He  studied  in  Parma,  says  Neefe,  with  the  first  vioHnist  Angelo 
Moriggi,  a  pupil  of  Tartini,  and  in  Parma,  Mantua  and  Bologna  con- 
ducted grand  operas  like  "Orfeo,"  "Alceste,"  etc.,  by  the  Chevalier  Gluck 
with  success.  He  owed  much  to  the  example  set  by  Gluck  in  the  matter 
of  conducting.  It  must  be  admitted  that  he  is  a  man  full  of  fire,  of 
lively  temperament  and  fine  feeling.  He  penetrates  quickly  into  the 
intentions  of  a  composer  and  knows  how  to  convey  them  promptly  and 
clearly  to  the  entire  orchestra.  He  was  the  first  to  introduce  accentua- 
tion, instrumental  declamation,  careful  attention  to  forte  and  piano, 
or  all  the  degrees  of  light  and  shade  in  the  orchestra  of  this  place.  In 
none  of  the  qualifications  of  a  leader  is  he  second  to  the  famed  Cannabich 
of  Mannheim.  He  surpasses  him  in  musical  enthusiasm,  and,  like  him, 
insists  upon  discipline  and  order.  Through  his  efforts  the  musical  reper- 
tory of  this  court  has  been  provided  with  a  very  considerable  collection 
of  good  and  admirable  compositions,  symphonies,  masses  and  other 
works,  to  which  he  makes  daily  additions;  in  the  same  manner  he  is 
continually  striving  for  the  betterment  of  the  orchestra.  Just  now  he 
is  engaged  in  a  project  for  building  a  new  organ  for  the  court  chapel. 
The  former  organ,  a  magnificent  instrument,  became  a  prey  of  the  flames 
at  the  great  conflagration  in  the  palace  in  1777.     His  salary  is  1,000  fl. 

The  chapelmaster  (appointed  May  26,  1774)  was  Mr.  Andrea 
Lucchesi,  born  May  28, 1 74 1 ,  at  Motta  in  Venetian  territory.  His  teachers 
in  composition  were,  in  the  theatre  style,  Mr.  Cocchi  of  Naples;  in 
the  church  style,  Father  Paolucci,  a  pupil  of  Padre  Martini  at  Bologna, 
and  afterwards  Mr.  Seratelli,  Chapelmaster  of  the  Duke  of  Venice.  He 
is  a  good  organist  and  occupied  himself  profitably  with  the  instrument 
in  Italy.  He  came  here  with  Mr.  Mattioli  as  conductor  of  an  Italian 
opera  company  in  1771.  Taken  altogether  he  is  a  light,  pleasing  and 
gay  composer  whose  part-writing  is  cleaner  than  that  of  most  of  his 
countrymen.  In  his  church-works  he  does  not  confine  himself  to  the 
strict  style  affected  by  many  to  please  amateurs.  Neefe  enumerates 
Lucchesi's  compositions  as  follows:  9  works  for  the  theatre,  among 
them  the  opera  "L'Isola  defla  Fortuna"  (1765),  "II  Marito  geloso"  (1766), 
"Le  Donne  sempre  Donne,"  "11  Matrimonio  per  astuzia"  (1771)  for 
Venice,  and  the  two  composed  at  Bonn,  "II  Natal  di  Giove"  and  "L'in- 
ganno  scoperto,"  various  intermezzi  and  cantatas;  various  masses, 
vespers  and  other  compositions  for  the  church;  six  sonatas  for  the  piano- 
forte and  violin;  a  pianoforte  trio,  four  pianoforte  quartets  and  several 
pianoforte  concertos.     His  salary  was  1,000  fl. 

The  organist  of  the  Court  Chapel  was  Christian  Gottlob 
Neefe,  son  of  a  poor  tailor  of  Chemnitz  in  Saxony,  where  he  was 
born  February  5,  1748.  He  is  one  of  the  many  instances  in  musical 
history  in  which  the  career  of  the  man  is  determined  by  the  beauty 
of  his  voice  in  childhood.  At  a  very  early  age  he  became  a 
chorister  in  the  principal  church,  which  position  gave  him  the 


Christian  Gottlob  Neefe's  Career  S5 

best  school  and  musical  instruction  that  the  small  city  afforded — 
advantages  so  wisely  improved  as  to  enable  him  in  early  youth 
to  gain  a  living  by  teaching.  At  the  age  of  21,  with  20  thalers  in 
his  pocket  and  a  stipend  of  30  tlialers  per  annum  from  the  magis- 
trates of  Chemnitz,  he  removed  to  Leipsic  to  attend  the  lectures 
of  the  university,  and  at  that  institution  in  the  course  of  time  he 
passed  his  examination  in  jurisprudence.  Upon  this  occasion  he 
argued  the  negative  of  the  question:  "Has  a  father  the  right  to 
disinherit  a  son  for  devoting  himself  to  the  theatre?"  In  Chem- 
nitz Neefe's  teachers  in  music  had  been  men  of  small  talents  and 
very  limited  acquirements,  and  even  in  Leipsic  he  owed  more 
to  his  persevering  study  of  the  theoretical  works  of  Marpurg  and 
C.  P.  E.  Bach  than  to  any  regular  instructor.  But  there  he  had 
the  very  great  advantage  of  forming  an  intimate  acquaintance 
with,  and  becoming  an  object  of  special  interest  to,  Johann  Adam 
Hiller,  the  celebrated  director  of  the  Gewandhaus  Concerts,  the 
then  popular  and  famous  composer,  the  introducer  of  Handel's 
"Messiah"  to  the  German  public,  the  industrious  writer  upon 
music,  and  finally  a  successor  of  Johann  Sebastian  Bach  as  Cantor 
of  the  Thomas  School.  Hiller  gave  him  every  encouragement  in 
his  power  in  his  musical  career;  opened  the  columns  of  his  musical 
"Wochentliche  Nachrichten"  to  his  compositions  and  writings; 
called  him  to  his  assistance  in  operatic  composition;  gave  him 
the  results  of  his  long  experience  in  friendly  advice;  criticized  his 
compositions,  and  at  length,  in  1777,  gave  him  his  own  position 
as  music  director  of  Seyler's  theatrical  company,  then  playing  at 
the  Linkische  Bad  in  Dresden.  Upon  the  departure  of  that  troupe 
for  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  Neefe  was  persuaded  to  remain  with 
it  in  the  same  capacity.  He  thus  became  acquainted  with  Friiu- 
lein  Zinck,  previously  court  singer  at  Gotha  but  now  engaged  for 
Seyler's  opera.  The  acquaintance  ripened  into  a  mutual  affec- 
tion and  ended  in  marriage  not  long  afterward.  It  is  no  slight 
testimony  to  the  high  reputation  which  he  enjoyed  that  at  the 
moment  of  Seyler's  flight  from  Frankfort  (1779)  Bondini,  whose 
success  had  driven  that  rival  from  Dresden,  was  in  correspondence 
with  Neefe  and  making  him  |)roposaIs  to  resign  his  ])osition  under 
Seyler  for  a  similar  but  better  one  in  his  service.  Pending  the 
result  of  these  negotiations  Neefe,  taking  his  wife  with  him, 
temporarily  joined  Grossmann  and  Helmuth  at  Bonn  in  the  same 
cai)acity.  Those  managers,  wlio  knew  the  value  of  his  services 
from  their  previous  experience  as  members  of  the  Seyler  troupe, 
paid  a  very  strong,  though  involuntary,  tribute  to  his  talents  and 
personal  character  by  ado|)ting  such  unfair  measures  as  to  compel 


36  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

the  musician  to  remain  in  Bonn  until  Bondini  was  forced  to  fill 
his  vacancy  by  another  candidate.  Having  once  got  him,  Gross- 
mann  was  determined  to  keep  him — and  succeeded. 

As  long  as  the  Grossmann  company  remained  undivided 
Neefe  accompanied  it  in  its  annual  visits  to  Miinster  and  other 
places; — thus  the  sketch  of  his  life  printed  sixteen  years  later  in 
the  first  volume  of  the  "Allgemeine  Musikzeitung"  of  Leipsic 
bears  date  "Frankfort-on-the-Main,  September  30,  1782";  but 
from  that  period  save,  perhaps,  for  a  short  time  in  1783,  he  seems 
not  to  have  left  Bonn  at  all. 

There   were  others  besides   Grossmann   and   Helmuth   who 
thought  Neefe  too  valuable  an  acquisition  to  the  musical  circles 
of  Bonn  not  to  be  secured.     Less  than  a  year  and  a  half  after  his 
arrival  there  the  minister  Belderbusch  and  the  countess  Hatzfeld, 
niece  of  the  Elector,  secured  to  him,  though  a  Protestant,  an 
appointment  to  the  place  of  court  organist.     The  salary  of  400 
florins,  together  with  the  700  florins  from  Grossmann,  made  his 
income  equal  to  that  of  the  court  chapelmaster.     It  is  difficult 
now  to  conceive  of  the  forgotten  name  of  C.  G.  Neefe  as  having 
once  stood  high  in  the  list  of  the  first  North  German  composers; 
yet  such  was  the  case.     Of  Neefe's  published  compositions,  besides 
the  short  vocal  and  clavier  pieces  in   Killer's  periodical,  there 
had  already  appeared  operettas  in  vocal  score,  "Die  Apotheke" 
(1772),  "Amor's   Guckkasten"  (1772),  "Die  Einspruche"  (1773) 
and  "Heinrich  und  Lyda'*  (1777);  also  airs  composed  for  Hiller's 
"Dorf-Barbier"  and  one  from  his  own  republished  opera  "Zemire 
und    Azor";    twelve   odes   of    Klopstock — sharply    criticized    by 
Fork  el   in   his  "Musikalisch-Kritische  Bibliothek,"  much  to  the 
benefit  of  the  second  edition  of  them;  and  a  pretty  long  series  of 
songs.     Of  instrumental  music  he  had  printed  twenty-four  sonatas 
for  pianoforte  solo  or  with  violin;  and  from  Breitkopf  and  Hartel's 
catalogues,   1772  and   1774,  may  be  added  the  following  works 
included  neither  in  his  own  list  nor  that  of  Gerber:  a  partita  for 
string  quartet,  2  horns,  2  oboes,  2  flutes  and  2  bassoons;  another 
for  the  same  instruments  minus  the  flutes  and  bassoons;  a  third 
for  the  string  quartet  and  2  oboes  only,  and  two  symphonies  for 
string  quartet,  2  horns,  2  oboes  and  2  flutes.     The  "Sophonisbe" 
music  was  also  finished  and  twenty  years  later,  after  Mozart  had 
given  a  new  standard  of  criticism,  it  was  warmly  eulogized  in  the 
"Allgemeine  Musikzeitung"  of  Leipsic.     At  the  date  of  his  letter 
to  Cramer  (March  2,  1783)  he  had  added  to  his  published  works 
"Sechs  Sonaten  am  Clavier  zu  singen,"  "Vademecum  fiir  Lieb- 
haber  des  Gesangs  und  Clavier,"  the  clavier  score  of  "Sophonisbe,'* 


Music  in  Private  Houses  of  Bonn  37 

and  a  concerto  for  clavier  and  orchestra.  His  manuscripts,  he  adds 
(Cramer's  "Magazine,"  I;  p.  382),  consist  of  (a)  the  scores  of  the 
operettas  which  had  appeared  in  pianoforte  arrangements;  (b)  the 
score  of  his  opera  "Zemire  und  Azor";  (c)  the  score  of  his  opera 
"Adelheit  von  Veltheim";  (d)  the  score  of  a  bardic  song  for  the 
tragedy  "The  Romans  in  Germany";  (e)  the  scores  of  theatrical 
between-acts  music;  (f)  the  score  of  a  Latin  "Pater  noster"; 
(g)  various  other  smaller  works.  He  had  in  hand  the  composition 
of  the  operetta  "Der  neue  Gutsherr,"  the  pianoforte  score  of 
which,  as  also  that  of  "Adelheit  von  Veltheim,"  was  about  to  be 
published  by  Dyck  in  Leipsic.  A  year  before  at  a  concert  for 
amateurs  at  the  house  of  Mr.  von  Mastiaux  he  had  produced  an 
ode  by  Klopstock,  "Dem  Unendlichen,"  for  four  chorus  voices 
and  a  large  orchestra,  which  was  afterwards  performed  in  Holy 
Week  in  the  Frduleinsiiftskirche.  In  short,  Neefe  brought  to 
Bonn  a  high-sounding  reputation,  talent,  skill  and  culture  both 
musical  and  literary,  which  made  him  invaluable  to  the  managers 
when  new  French  and  Italian  operas  were  to  be  prepared  for  the 
German  stage;  great  facility  in  throwing  off  a  new  air,  song, 
entr'acte  or  what  not  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  moment;  very 
great  industry,  a  cacoethes  scribendi  of  the  very  highest  value  to 
the  student  of  Bonn's  musical  history  in  his  time  and  a  new  element 
into  the  musical  life  there.  This  element  may  have  seemed  some- 
what formal  and  pedantic,  but  it  was  solid,  for  it  was  drawn  from 
the  school  of  Handel  and  Bach. 

Let  us  return  to  Neefe's  letter  to  Cramer  again  for  some 
notices  of  music  outside  the  electoral  palace: 

Belderbusch,  the  minister,  retained  a  quintet  of  wind-instruments, 
2  clarinets,  2  horns  and  a  bassoon. 

The  Countess  von  Belderbusch,  wife  of  a  nephew  of  the  minister, 
whose  name  will  come  up  again,  "plays  skilfully  upon  the  clavier." 

The  Countess  von  Hatzfeld,  niece  of  the  Elector,  was  "trained  in 
singing  and  clavier  playing  by  the  best  masters  of  Vienna  to  whom, 
indeed,  she  does  very  much  honor.  She  declaims  recitatives  admirably 
and  it  is  a  pleasure  to  listen  to  her  sing  arias  di  parlante.  She  plays  the 
fortepiano  brilliantly  and  in  playing  yields  herself  up  completely  to  her 
emotions,  wherefore  one  never  hears  any  restlessness  or  uneveness  of 
time  in  her  tempo  rubato.  She  is  enthusiastically  devoted  to  music 
and  musicians."' 

('hancellor  and  Captain  von  Schall  "plays  clavier  and  violin. 
Though  not  adept  on  either  instrument  he  has  very  correct  musical 
feeling.  Tie  knows  how  to  api)reciate  the  true  beauties  of  a  composition, 
and  how  to  judge  them,  and  has  large  historical  and  literary  knowledge 
of  music." 

*To  her  Beethoven  dedicated  hia  variations  on  "Venni  Amore." 


38  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

Frau  Court  Councillor  von  Belzer  "plays  the  clavier  and  sings.  She 
has  a  strong,  masculine  contralto  of  wide  range,  particularly  downwards." 

Joliann  Gottfried  von  Mastiaux,  of  the  Finance  Department  and 
incumbent  of  divers  high  offices,  is  a  self-taught  musician.  He  plays 
several  instruments  himself  and  has  given  his  four  sons  and  a  daughter 
the  best  musical  instruction  possible  in  Bonn.  All  are  pianists  and  so 
many  of  them  performers  on  other  instruments  that  the  production  of 
quintets  is  a  common  family  enjoyment.  He  is  a  devoted  admirer  of 
Haydn,  with  whom  he  corresponds,  and  in  his  large  collection  of  music 
there  are  already  80  symphonies,  30  quartets  and  40  trios  by  that  master. 
His  rare  and  valuable  instruments  are  so  numerous  "that  he  could  almost 
equip  a  complete  orchestra.  Every  musician  is  his  friend  and  welcome 
to  him." 

Count  Altstadter:  "in  his  house  one  may  at  times  hear  a  very 
good  quartet." 

Captain  Dantoine,  "a  passionate  admirer  and  knower  of  music; 
plays  the  violin  and  the  clavier  a  little.  He  learned  composition  from 
the  books  of  Marpurg,  Kirnberger  and  Riepel.  Formed  his  taste  in 
Italy,  In  both  respects  the  reading  of  scores  by  classical  masters  has 
been  of  great  service  to  him."  Among  his  compositions  are  several 
operettas,  symphonies  and  quartets  "in  Haydn's  style." 

The  three  Messrs.  Facius,  "sons  of  the  Russian  agent  here,  are 
soundly  musical;  the  two  elder  play  the  flute  and  the  youngest  plays 
the  violoncello."  (According  to  Fischer  the  members  of  this  family 
were  visitors  at  the  house  of  the  Beethovens.) 

There  are  many  more  music-lovers  here,  but  the  majority  of  them 
are  too  much  given  to  privacy,  so  far  as  their  musical  practice  goes,  to 
be  mentioned  here.  Enough  has  been  said  to  show  that  a  stranger 
fond  of  music  need  never  leave  Bonn  without  nourishment.  Neverthe- 
less, a  large  public  concert  institution  under  the  patronage  of  His  Electoral 
Grace  is  still  desirable.  It  would  be  one  more  ornament  of  the  capital 
and  a  promoter  of  the  good  cause  of  music. 

What  with  the  theatre,  the  court  music,  the  musical  pro- 
ductions in  the  church  and  such  opportunities  in  private  it  is 
plain  that  young  talent  in  those  days  in  Bonn  was  in  no  danger  of 
starvation  for  want  of  what  Neefe  calls  "musikalische  Nahrung." 

So  much  upon  the  dramatis  personce,  other  than  the  principal 
figure  and  liis  family.  Let  an  attempt  follow  to  describe  the 
little  city  as  it  appeared  in  1770 — in  other  words,  to  picture  the 
scene.  By  an  enumeration  made  in  1789,  the  population  of 
Bonn  was  9,560  souls,  a  number  which  probably  for  a  long  series 
of  years  had  rarely  varied  beyond  a  few  score,  more  or  less — one, 
therefore,  that  must  very  nearly  represent  the  aggregate  in  1770. 
For  the  town  had  neither  manufactures  nor  commerce  beyond 
what  its  own  wants  supported;  it  was  simply  the  residence  of  the 
Elector — the  seat  of  the  court,  and  the  people  depended  more  or 
less  directly  upon  that  court  for  subsistence — as  a  wag  expressed 


A  Prospect  of  Bonn  in  Beethoven's  Day  39 

it,  "all  Bonn  was  fed  from  the  Elector's  kitchen."  The  old  city 
walls — (the  "gar  gute  Fortification,  dass  der  Churfiirst  sicher 
genug  darinnen  Hof  halten  kann"  of  Johann  Hiibner's  description) 
— were  already  partially  destroyed.  "SYithin  them  the  whole 
population  seems  to  have  lived.  Outside  the  city  gates  it  does 
not  appear  that,  save  by  a  chapel  or  two,  the  eye  was  impeded 
in  its  sweep  across  gardens  and  open  fields  to  the  surrounding 
villages  which,  then  as  now  hidden  in  clusters  of  walnut  and 
fruit  trees,  appeared,  when  looked  upon  from  the  neighboring 
hills,  like  islands  rising  upon  tlie  level  surface  of  the  plain.  The 
great  increase  of  wealth  and  population  during  the  last  150  years 
in  all  this  part  of  the  Rhine  valley  under  the  influence  of  the  wise 
national  economy  of  the  Prussian  government,  has  produced 
corresponding  changes  in  and  about  the  towns  and  villages;  but 
the  grand  features  of  the  landscape  are  unchanged;  the  ruins 
upon  the  Drachenfels  and  Godesberg  looked  down,  as  now,  upon 
the  distant  roofs  and  spires  of  Bonn;  the  castle  of  Siegburg  rose 
above  the  plains  away  to  the  East;  the  chapel  crowned  the  Peters- 
berg,  the  church  with  the  marble  stairs  the  nearer  Kreuzberg. 

The  fine  landing  place  with  its  growing  trees  and  seats  for 
idlers,  the  villas,  hotels,  coffee-houses  and  dwellings  outside  the 
old  walls,  are  all  recent;  but  the  huge  ferryboat,  the  "flying 
bridge,"  even  then  was  ever  swinging  like  a  pendulum  from  shore 
to  shore.  Steam  as  a  locomotive  power  was  unknown,  and  the 
commerce  of  the  Rhine  floated  by  the  town,  gliding  down  with 
the  current  on  rafts  or  in  clumsy  but  rather  picturesque  boats, 
or  impelled  against  the  stream  by  the  winds,  by  horses  and  even 
by  men  and  women.  The  amount  of  traffic  was  not,  however, 
too  great  to  be  amply  provided  for  in  this  manner;  for  population 
was  kept  down  by  war,  by  the  hard  and  rude  life  of  the  peasant 
class,  and  by  the  influences  of  all  the  false  national-economic 
principh's  of  that  age,  which  restrained  commerce  by  every  device 
that  could  l>e  made  to  yield  present  profit  to  the  rulers  of  the 
Rhine  lands.  Passengers  had,  for  generations,  no  longer  been 
plundered  by  mail-clad  robbers  dwelling  upon  a  hundred  pictur- 
esque heights;  but  each  petty  state  had  gained  from  tlie  Em- 
peror's weakness  "vested  rights"  in  all  sorts  of  custom-levies 
and  taxes.  Risbeck  (1780)  found  nine  toll-stations  between  INIay- 
ence  and  Coblenz;  and  thence  to  the  l)oundary  of  Holland,  he 
declares  there  were  at  least  sixteen,  and  that  in  the  average  each 
must  have  coUeftcd  '50,000  Rlienish  florins  per  annum. 

To  the  stranger,  coming  down  from  Mayencc,  with  its  narrow 
dark  lanes,  or  up  from  Cologne,  whose  confined  and  pestiferously 


40  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

dirty  streets,  emitting  unnamed  stenches,  were  but  typical  of 
the  bigotry,  superstition  and  moral  filth  of  the  population — all 
now  happily  changed,  thanks  to  a  long  period  of  French  and 
Prussian  rule — little  Bonn  seemed  a  very  picture  of  neatness 
and  comfort.  Even  its  ecclesiastical  life  seemed  of  another  order. 
The  men  of  high  rank  in  the  church  were  of  high  rank  also  by 
birth;  they  were  men  of  the  world  and  gentlemen;  their  manners 
were  polished  and  their  minds  enlarged  by  intercourse  with  the 
world  and  with  gentlemen;  they  were  tolerant  in  their  opinions 
and  liberal  in  their  views.  Ecclesiastics  of  high  and  low  de- 
gree were  met  at  every  corner  as  in  other  cities  of  the  Rhine 
region;  but  absence  of  military  men  was  a  remarkable  feature. 
Johann  Hiibner  gives  the  reason  for  this  in  few  and  quaint  words : 
— "In  times  of  war  much  depends  upon  who  is  master  of  Bonn, 
because  traflBc  on  the  Rhine  can  be  blockaded  at  this  pass.  There- 
fore the  place  has  its  excellent  fortification  which  enables  the 
Elector  to  hold  his  court  in  ample  security  within  its  walls.  But 
he  need  not  maintain  a  garrison  there  in  time  of  peace,  and  in  time 
of  war  troops  are  garrisoned  who  have  taken  the  oath  to  the 
Emperor  and  the  empire.  This  was  settled  by  the  peace  of 
Ryswick  as  well  as  Rastatt." 

While  the  improvement  in  the  appearance  of  the  streets  of 
Bonn  has  necessarily  been  great,  through  the  refitting  or  rebuild- 
ing of  a  large  portion  of  the  dwelling-houses,  the  plan  of  the  town, 
except  in  those  parts  lying  near  the  wall,  has  undergone  no  essen- 
tial change,  the  principal  one  being  the  open  spaces,  where  in 
1770  churches  stood.  On  the  small  triangular  Romer-Platz  was 
the  principal  parish  church  of  Bonn,  that  of  St.  Remigius,  stand- 
ing in  such  a  position  that  its  tall  tower  looked  directly  down  the 
Acherstrasse.  In  1800  this  tower  was  set  on  fire  by  lightning 
and  destroyed;  six  years  later  the  church  itself  was  demolished 
by  the  French  and  its  stones  removed  to  become  a  part  of  the 
fortifications  at  Wesel.  On  the  small,  round  grass  plot  as  one 
goes  from  the  Miinster  church  toward  the  neighboring  city  gate 
(Neuthor)  stood  another  parish  church — a  rotunda  in  form — that 
of  St.  Martin,  which  fell  in  1812  and  was  removed;  and  at  the 
opposite  end  of  the  minster,  separated  from  it  only  by  a  narrow 
passage,  was  still  a  third,  the  small  structure  dedicated  to  St. 
Gangolph.  This,  too,  was  pulled  down  in  1806.  Only  the  fourth 
parish  church,  that  of  St.  Peter  in  Dietkirchen,  is  still  in  existence 
and  was,  at  a  later  date,  considerably  enlarged.  After  the  demoli- 
tion of  these  buildings  a  new  division  of  the  town  into  parishes 
was  made  (1806). 


Holiday  Times  in  the  Little  City  41 

The  city  front  of  the  electoral  palace,  now  the  university, 
was  more  imposing  than  now,  and  was  adorned  by  a  tall,  hand- 
some tower  containing  a  carillon,  with  bells  numerous  enough  to 
play,  for  instance,  the  overture  to  Monsigny's  "Deserter."  This 
part  of  the  palace,  with  the  tower  and  chapel,  was  destroyed  by 
fire  in  1777. 

The  town  hall,  erected  by  Clemens  August,  and  the  other 
churches  were  as  now,  but  the  large  edifice  facing  the  university 
library  and  museum  of  casts,  now  occupied  by  private  dwellings 
and  shops,  was  then  the  cloister  and  church  of  the  Franciscan 
monks.  A  convent  of  Capuchin  nuns  stood  upon  the  Kessel- 
gasse;  its  garden  is  now  a  bleaching  ground. 

Let  the  fancy  picture,  upon  a  fine  Easter  or  Pentecost  morning 
in  those  years,  the  little  city  in  its  holiday  attire  and  bustle.  The 
bells  in  palace  and  church  tower  ringing;  the  peasants  in  coarse 
but  picturesque  garments,  the  women  abounding  in  bright  colors, 
come  in  from  the  surrounding  villages,  fill  the  market-place  and 
crowd  the  churches  at  the  early  masses.  The  nobles  and  gentry 
— in  broad-flapped  coats,  wide  waistcoats  and  knee-breeches, 
the  entire  dress  often  of  brilliant  colored  silks,  satins  and  velvets, 
huge,  white,  flowing  neckcloths,  ruffles  over  the  hands,  buckles 
of  silver  or  even  of  gold  at  the  knees  and  upon  the  shoes,  huge 
wigs  becurled  and  bepowdered  on  the  heads,  and  surmounted  by 
the  cocked  hat,  when  not  held  under  the  arm,  a  sword  at  the  side, 
and  commonly  a  gold-headed  cane  in  the  hand  (and  if  the  morn- 
ing be  cold,  a  scarlet  cloak  thrown  over  the  shoulders) — are  daintily 
picking  their  way  to  the  palace  to  kiss  His  Transparency's  hand  or 
dashing  up  to  the  gates  in  heavy  carriages  with  white  wigged  and 
cocked-hatted  coachmen  and  footmen.  Their  ladies  wear  long 
and  narrow  bodices,  but  their  robes  flow  with  a  mighty  sweep; 
their  apparent  stature  is  increased  by  very  high-heeled  shoes  and 
by  piling  up  their  hair  on  lofty  cushions;  their  sleeves  are  short, 
but  long  silk  gloves  cover  the  arms.  The  ecclesiastics,  various  in 
name  and  costume,  dress  as  now,  save  in  the  matter  of  the  flowing 
wig.  Tha  Elector's  company  of  guards  is  out  and  at  intervals 
the  thunder  of  the  artillery  on  the  walls  is  heard.  On  all  sides, 
strong  and  l)rilliant  contrasts  of  color  meet  the  eye,  velvet  and 
silk,  purf)le  and  fine  linen,  gold  and  silver — such  were  the  fashions 
of  the  time — costly,  inconvenient  in  form,  l)ut  imposing,  mag- 
nificent and  marking  the  differences  of  rank  and  class.  Let  the 
imagination  pirtiire  all  tliis,  and  it  will  have  a  scene  familiar  to 
the  boy  Beethoven,  and  one  in  whicli  as  he  grew  up  to  manhood 
he  had  his  own  small  part  to  play. 


Chapter  II 


The  Ancestral  van  Beethoven  Family  in  Belgium — Removal 
of  the  Grandfather  to  Bonn — His  Activities  as  Singer 
and  Chapelmaster  —  Birth  and  Education  of  Johann 
van  Beethoven — ^The  Parents  of  the  Composer. 

AT  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century  a  family  named 
van  Beethoven  lived  in  a  village  of  Belgium  near  Louvain, 
A  member  of  it  removed  to  and  settled  in  Antwerp  about 
1650.  A  son  of  this  Beethoven,  named  William,  a  wine  dealer, 
married,  September  11,  1680,  Catherine  Grandjean  and  had  issue, 
eight  children.  One  of  them,  baptized  September  8,  1683,  in  the 
parish  of  Notre  Dame,  now  received  the  name  Henry  Adelard,  his 
sponsors  being  Henry  van  Beethoven,  acting  for  Adelard  de  Re- 
dincq,  Baron  de  Rocquigny,  and  Jacqueline  Grandjean.  This  Henry 
Adelard  Beethoven,  having  arrived  at  man's  estate,  took  to  wife 
Maria  Catherine  de  Herdt,  who  bore  him  twelve  children — the 
third  named  Louis,  the  twelfth  named  Louis  Joseph.  The  latter, 
baptized  December  9,  1728,  married,  November  3,  1773,  Maria 
Theresa  Schuerweghs,  and  died  November  11,  1808,  at  Ooster- 
wyck.  The  second  daughter,  named  like  her  mother  Maria 
Theresa,  married,  September  6,  1808,  Joseph  Michael  Jacobs  and 
became  the  mother  of  Jacob  Jacobs,  in  the  middle  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  a  professor  of  painting  in  Antwerp,  who  supplied 
in  part  the  materials  for  these  notices  of  the  Antwerp  Beethovens, 
although  the  principal  credit  is  due  to  M.  Leon  de  Burbure  of 
that  city.^ 

The  certificate  of  baptism  of  Louis  van  Beethoven,  third 
son  of  Henry  Adelard,  is  to  this  effect: 

Antwerp,  December  23,   1712 — Baptizatus,  Ludovicus. 
Parents:  Henricus  van  Beethoven  and  Maria  Catherine  de 
Hert. 

^In  Fetis'  "Biographie   universelle"  (new  ed.)  several  of  these  names  are  mis- 
printed.    They  are  corrected  here  from  Mr.  Jacobs'  letter  to  A.  W.  T. 

[42] 


The  Composer's  Belgian  Ancestry  43 

'»■ 

Sponsors:  Petrus  Bellmaert  and  Dymphona  van  Beethoven. 

It  is  a  family  tradition — Prof.  Jacobs  heard  it  from  his  mother 
— that  this  Louis  van  Beethoven,  owing  to  some  domestic  diflB- 
culties  (according  to  M.  Burbure  they  were  financial),  secretly 
left  his  father's  house  at  an  early  age  and  never  saw  it  again, 
although  in  later  years  an  epistolary  correspondence  seems  to 
have  been  established  between  the  fugitive  and  his  parents. 
Gifted  with  a  good  voice  and  well  educated  musically,  he  went 
to  Louvain  and  applied  for  a  vacant  position  as  tenor  to  the 
chapter  ad  Sanctum  Petrum,  receiving  it  on  November  2,  1731.^ 
A  few  days  later  the  young  man  of  18  years  was  appointed  sub- 
stitute for  three  months  for  the  singing  master  {Phonascus),  who 
had  fallen  ill,  as  is  attested  by  the  minutes  of  the  Chapter,  under 
date  November  2,  1731.2 

The  young  singer  does  not  seem  to  have  filled  the  place 
beyond  the  prescribed  time.  By  a  decree  of  Elector  Clemens 
August,  dated  March,  1733  (the  month  of  Joseph  Haydn's  birth), 
he  became  Court  Musician  in  Bonn  with  a  salary  of  400  florins, 
a  large  one  for  those  days,  particularly  in  the  case  of  a  young  man 
who  only  three  months  before  had  completed  his  20th  year. 
Allowing  the  usual  year  of  probation  to  which  candidates  for  the 
court  chapel  were  subjected,  Beethoven  must  have  come  to  Bonn 
in  1732.  This  corresponds  to  the  time  spent  at  Louvain  as  well 
as  to  a  petition  of  1774,  to  be  given  hereafter,  in  which  Johann 
speaks  of  his  father's  "42  years  of  service."  There  is  another 
paper  of  date  1784  which  makes  the  elder  Beethoven  to  have 
served  about  46  years,  but  this  is  from  another  hand  and  of  less 
authority  than  that  written  by  the  son. 

What  it  was  that  persuaded  Ludwig  van  Beethoven  to  go 
to  Bonn  is  unknown.  Gottfried  Fischer,  who  owned  the  house 
in  tlie  Rheingasse  in  which  two  generations  of  Beethovens  lived, 
professed  to  know  that  Elector  Clemens  August  learned  to  know 
him  as  a  good  singer  at  Liege  and  for  that  reason  called  him  to 

'Thayer's  account  of  this  period  in  llic  life  of  Beethoven's  grandfather  has  here 
been  extended  from  an  article  by  the  (  lurvalier  L.  de  Hurl)ure,  pul)lished  in  tlie  "IJio- 
graphie  nationale  publiee  par  rAeadernie  Hoyale  des  sciences,  des  lettrcs  et  dcs  beaux 
arts  de  Belgique."  Tome  II.  p.  105.  (Brussels,  IHOH.)  From  this  it  further  appears 
that  two  other  members  of  the  Antwerp  branch  of  the  family  were  devoted  to  the  fine 
arts,  viz.:  Peter  van  Beethoven,  j)aintrr.  |)iipil  of  Abr.  (Jcnoel,  jr.,  and  (lerhard  van 
Beethoven,  sculptor,  acreplcfl  in  Iht;  nm\<\  of  St.  Luke  about  171 S,  Director  Vollmer. 
of  Brussels,  in  a  communication  tf)  Dr.  Dcil.rs  ^'ave  information  of  a  branch  of  the 
family  in  Mechlin  and  of  still  another  in  Brabant  when-,  in  the  viliafce  of  Wanibeke. 
there  was  a  cure  van  lieethoven  who  must  either  have  died  or  been  transferred 
between  17^9  and  1732. 

*The  original  entry  is  printed  in  full  in  the  German  edition  of  this  biography. 


44  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

Bonn,  That  is  not  impossible,  whether  the  Elector  went  to  Lpu- 
vain  or  Ludwig  introduced  himself  to  him  at  Liege.  But  it  is 
significant  that  another  branch  of  the  Beethoven  family  was 
already  represented  at  Bonn.  Michael  van  Beethoven  was  born 
in  Malines  in  February,  1684.  He  was  a  son  of  Cornelius  van 
Beethoven  and  Catherine  Leempoel,  and  beyond  doubt,  as  the 
later  associations  in  Bonn  prove,  closely  related  to  the  Antwerp 
branch  of  the  family.  Michael  van  Beethoven  married  Maria 
Ludovica  Stuykers  (or  Stuykens)  on  October  8,  1707.  His  eldest 
son  also  bore  the  name  of  Cornelius  (born  in  September,  1708,  in 
Malines)  and  there  were  four  other  sons  born  to  him  during  his  stay 
in  Malines,  among  them  two  who  were  named  Louis,  up  to  1715. 
At  a  date  which  is  uncertain,  this  family  removed  to  Bonn.  There 
Cornelius,  on  February  20,  1734,  ma.rried  a  widow  named  Helena 
de  la  Porte  (nee  Calem),  in  the  church  of  St.  Gan^olph,  Ludwig 
van  Beethoven,  the  young  court  singer,  being  one  of  the  witnesses. 
In  August  of  the  same  year  Cornelius  was  proxy  for  his  father 
(who,  evidently,  had  not  yet  come  to  Bonn),  as  godfather  for 
Ludwig's  first  child.  Later,  after  his  son  had  established  a  house- 
hold, he  removed  to  Bonn,  for  Michael  van  Beethoven  died  in 
June,  1749,  in  Bonn,  and  in  December  of  the  same  year  Maria 
Ludovica  Stuykens  (sic),  "the  Widow  van  Beethoven."  Corne- 
lius became  a  citizen  of  Bonn  on  January  17,  1736,  on  the  ground 
that  he  had  married  the  widow  of  a  citizen,  and  in  1738  he  stands 
alone  as  representative  of  the  name  in  the  list  of  Bonn's  citizens. 
He  seems  to  have  been  a  merchant,  and  is  probably  the  man  who 
figures  in  the  annual  accounts  of  Clemens  August  as  purveyor 
of  candles.  He  lost  his  wife,  and  for  a  second  married  Anna 
Barbara  Marx,  virgo,  on  July  5,  1755,  who  bore  him  two  daughters 
(1756  and  1759),  both  of  whom  died  young  and  for  both  of  whom 
Ludwig  van  Beethoven  was  sponsor.  Cornelius  died  in  1764  and 
his  wife  in  1765,  and  with  this  the  Malines  branch  of  the  family 
ended.  Which  one  of  the  two  cousins  (for  so  we  may  in  a  general 
way  consider  them)  came  to  Bonn,  Ludwig  or  Cornelius,  must  be 
left  to  conjecture.  There  is  evidence  in  favor  of  the  former  in 
the  circumstance  that  Cornelius  does  not  appear  as  witness  at 
the  marriage  of  Ludwig  in  1733.  If  Ludwig  was  the  earlier 
arrival,  then  the  story  of  his  call  by  the  Elector  may  be  true;  he 
was  not  disappointed  in  his  hope  of  being  able  to  make  his  way 
by  reason  of  his  knowledge  of  music  and  singing. 

The  next  recorded  fact  in  his  history  may  be  seen  in  the 
ancient  register  of  the  parish  of  St.  Remigius,  now  preserved  in 
the  town  hall  of  Bonn.     It  is  the  marriage  on  September  7,  1733, 


Other  Beethoven  Families  in  Bonn  45 

of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven  and  Maria  Josepha  Poll,  the  husband 
not  yet  21  years  of  age,  the  wife  19.  Then  follows  in  the  records 
of  baptisms  in  the  parish: 

1734,  August  8. 

Parents:  Baptized:  Sponsors: 

Ludwig  van  Beethoven,        Maria  Maria  Bernardina  Menz, 

Maria   Josepha   Poll.        Bernardina        Michael  van  Beethoven; 

Ludovica.         in  his  place  Cornelius  van 
Beethoven. 

The  child  Bernardina  died  in  infancy,  October  17,  1735.  Her 
place  was  soon  filled  by  a  son,  Marcus  Josephus,  baptized  April 
15,  1736,  of  whom  the  parents  were  doubtless  early  bereaved,  for 
no  other  notice  whatever  has  been  found  of  him.  After  the  lapse 
of  some  four  years  the  childless  pair  again  became  parents,  by 
the  birth  of  a  son,  whose  baptismal  record  has  not  been  discovered. 
It  is  supposed  that  this  child,  Johann,  was  baptized  in  the  Court 
Chapel,  the  records  of  which  are  not  preserved  in  the  archives 
of  the  town  and  seem  to  be  lost;  or  that,  possibly,  he  was  born 
while  the  mother  was  absent  from  Bonn.  An  official  report  upon 
the  condition  and  characters  of  the  court  musicians  made  in  1784, 
however,  gives  Johann  van  Beethoven  born  in  Bonn  and  aged 
forty-four — thus  fixing  the  date  of  his  birth  towards  the  end  of 
1739  or  the  beginning  of  1740. 

The  gradual  improvement  of  the  elder  Beethoven's  condition 
in  respect  of  both  emolument  and  social  position,  is  creditable  to 
him  alike  as  a  musician  and  as  a  man.  Poorly  as  the  musicians 
were  paid,  he  was  able  in  his  last  years  to  save  a  small  portion  of 
his  earnings;  his  rise  in  social  position  is  indicated  in  the  public 
records; — thus,  the  first  child  is  recorded  as  the  son  of  L.  v.  Beet- 
hoven "musicus";  as  sponsor  to  tlie  eldest  daughter  of  Cornelius 
van  Beethoven,  he  appears  as  "Dominus"  van  Beethoven; — to  the 
second  as  "Musicus  Aulicus";  in  1761  he  becomes  *'Herr  Kapell- 
meister," and  his  name  appears  in  the  Court  Calendar  of  the 
same  year,  third  in  a  list  of  twenty-eight  "Hommes  de  chambre 
honoraires."  Of  the  elder  Beethoven's  appointment  as  head  of 
the  court  music  no  other  particulars  have  been  obtained  than 
those  to  be  found  in  his  petition  and  the  accompanying  decree 
printed  in  C]iaj)t('r  I.  From  these  papers  it  appears  that  the 
bass  singer  has  had  the  i)roniise  of  the  })Iace  from  Clemens  August 
as  successor  to  Zudoli,  but  that  the  Elector,  when  the  vacancy 
occurred,  changed  his  mind  and  gave  it  to  his    favorite    young 


46  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

violinist  Touchemoulin,  who  held  the  position  for  so  short  a  time, 
however,  that  his   name  never  appears  as   chapelmaster  in  the 
Court  Calendar,  he  having  resigned  on  account  of  the  reduction 
of  his  salary  by  Belderbusch,  prime  minister  of  the  new  Elector 
who  just  at  that  period  succeeded  Clemens  August.     The  eleva- 
tion of  a  singer  to  such  a  place  was  not  a  very  uncommon  event 
in  tliose  days,  but  that  a  chapelmaster  should  still  retain  his 
place  as  singer  probably   was.     Hasse  and   Graun  began   their 
careers  as  vocalists,  but  more  to  the  point  are  the  instances  of 
Steffani,  Handel's  predecessor  at  the  court  of  Hanover,  and  of 
Righini,  successively  chapelmaster  at  Mayence  and  Berlin.     In 
all  these  cases  the  incumbents  were  distinguished  and  very  success- 
ful   composers.     Beethoven    was    not.     Wegeler's    words,   "the 
chapelmaster  and  bass  singer  had   at  an  earher  date  produced 
operas  at  the  National  Theatre  established  by  the  Elector,"  have 
been   rather  interpreted   than   quoted   by   Schindler   and   others 
thus:  "it  is  thought  that  under  the  luxury-loving  Elector  Clemens 
August,  he  produced  operas  of  his  own    composition" — a  con- 
struction which  is  clearly  forced  and  incorrect.     Strange  that  so 
few  writers  can  content  themselves  with    exact  citations!     Not 
only  is  there  no  proof  whatever,  certainly  none  yet  made  public, 
that    Chapelmaster   van   Beethoven   was   an   author  of  operatic 
works,   but   the   words   in   his  own   petition,  "inasmuch   as  the 
Toxal  must  be  sufficiently  supplied  with  musique,"  can  hardly 
be  otherwise  understood  than  as  intended  to  meet  a  possible 
objection  to  his  appointment  on  the  ground  of  his  not  being  a 
composer.     Wegeler's  words,  then,  would  simply  mean  that  he 
put  upon  the  stage  and  conducted  the  operatic  works  produced, 
which  were  neither  numerous  nor  of  a  very  high  order  during  his 
time.     His  labors  were  certainly  onerous  enough  without  adding 
musical  composition.     The  records  of  the  electoral  court  which 
have  been  described  and    in   part  reproduced   in  the  preceding 
chapter,  exhibit  him  conducting  the  music  of  chapel,  theatre  and 
"Toxal,"  examining  candidates  for  admission  into  the  electoral 
musical  service,  reporting  upon  questions  referred  to  him  by  the 
privy  council  and  the  like,  and  all  this  in  addition  to  his  services 
as  bass  singer,  a  position  which  gave  him  the  principal  bass  parts 
and  solos  to  sing  both  in  chapel  and  theatre.     Wegeler  records 
a  tradition  that  in   Gassmann's  operetta  "L'Amore   Artigiano" 
and   Monsigny's   "Deserteur"   he  was   "admirable  and  received 
the  highest  applause."     If  this  be  true  it  proves  no  small  degree 
of  enterprise  on  his  part  as  chapelmaster  and  of  well-conserved 
powers  as  a  singer;  for  these  two  operas  were  first  produced,  the 


CHAPELiL\STER   VAX   BeETHOVEN's   TrIALS  47 

one  in  Vienna,  the  other  in  Paris,  in  1769,  when  Beethoven  had 
alreadv  entered  his  fiftv-eighth  vear. 

The  words  of  Demmer  in  his  petition  of  January  23,  1773, 
"the  bass  singer  van  Beethoven  is  incapacitated  and  can  no  longer 
serve  as  such,"  naturally  suggest  the  thought  that  the  old  gentle- 
man's appearance  as  Brunoro  in  Lucchesi's  "L'Inganno  scoperto" 
in  May,  1773,  was  a  final  compHment  to  his  master,  the  Elector, 
upon  his  birthday.  He  did  not  live  to  celebrate  another;  the 
death  of  "Ludwig  van  Beethoven,  Hoffkapellmeister,"  is  recorded 
at  Bonn  under  date  of  December  2-4,  1773 — one  day  after  the 
sixty-first  anniversary  of  his  baptism  in  Antwerp. 

At  home  the  good  man  had  his  cross  to  bear.  His  wife, 
Josepha,  who  with  one  exception  had  buried  all  her  children,  and 
possibly  on  that  very  account,  became  addicted  to  the  indul- 
gence of  an  appetite  for  strong  drink,  was  at  the  date  of  her 
husband's  death  living  as  a  boarder  in  a  cloister  at  Cologne. 
How  long  she  had  been  there  does  not  appear,  but  doubtless  for 
a  considerable  period.  The  son,  too,  was  married,  but  though 
near  was  not  in  his  father's  house.  The  separation  was  brought 
about  by  his  marriage,  with  which  the  father  was  not  agreed. 
The  house  in  which  the  chapelmaster  died,  and  which  he  occupied 
certainly  as  earlv  as  1765,  was  that  next  north  of  the  so-called 
Gudenauer  Hof ,  later  the  post-office  in  the  neighboring  Bonngasse, 
and  bore  the  number  386.  The  chapelmaster  appears,  upon 
pretty  good  evidence,  to  have  removed  hither  from  the  Fischer 
house  in  the  Rheingasse,  where  he  is  said  to  have  lived  many  years 
and  even  to  have  carried  on  a  trade  in  wine,  which  change  of 
dwelling  may  have  taken  place  in  1767. 

AVhen  one  recalls  the  imposing  style  of  dress  at  the  era  the 
short,  muscular  man,  with  dark  complexion  and  very  bright  eyes, 
as  Wegeler  describes  him^  and  as  a  painting  by  Courtpainter 
Radoux,  still  in  possession  of  his  descendants  in  Vienna,  depicts 
him,  presents  quite  an  imposing  picture  to  the  imagination. 

Of  the  early  life  of  Johann  van  Beethoven  there  are  no  par- 
ticulars preserved  except  such  as  are  directly  or  indirectly  con- 
veyed in  the  official  documents.  Such  of  these  papers  as  came 
from  his  own  hand,  if  judged  by  the  standard  of  our  time,  show 
a  want  of  ordinary  education;  but  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that 
the  ortliography  of  the  German  language  was  not  then  fixed; 
nor  that  many  a  contemporary  of  liis,  who  lioastcd  a  university 

'"The  granrlfather  was  a  man  short  of  statiiro.  muscular,  with  cxtrcm»'Iy  animated 
eyes,  and  was  greatly  respected  as  an  artist."'  Fischer's  description  is  dilferent,  but 
Wegeler  is  the  more  trustworthy  witness  of  the  two. 


48  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

education,  or  who  belonged  to  the  highest  ranks  of  society,  wrote 
in  a  style  no  better  than  his.  This  is  certain:  that  after  he  had 
received  an  elementary  education  he  was  sent  to  the  Gymnasium, 
for  as  a  member  of  the  lowest  class  (infima)  of  that  institution  he 
took  part  in  September,  1750,  as  singer  in  the  annual  school  play 
which  it  was  the  custom  of  the  Musoe  Bonnenses  to  give.  It 
would  seem,  therefore,  that  his  good  voice  and  musical  gifts  were 
appreciated  at  an  early  period.  Herein,  probably,  is  also  to  be 
found  the  reason  why  his  stay  at  the  gymnasium  was  not  of  long 
duration.  The  father  had  set  him  apart  for  service  in  the  court 
music,  and  himself,  as  appears  from  the  statements  already  printed, 
undertook  his  instruction;  he  taught  him  singing  and  clavier 
playing.  Whether  or  not  he  also  taught  him  violin  playing,  in 
which  he  was  "capable,"  remains  uncertain.  In  1752,  at  the 
age  of  12,  as  can  be  seen  from  his  petition  of  March,  1756,  and  his 
father's  of  1764,  he  entered  the  chapel  as  soprano.  According 
to  Gottwald's  report  of  1756  he  had  served  "about  2  years";  the 
contradiction  is  probably  explained  by  an  interruption  caused  by 
the  mutation  of  his  voice.  At  the  age  of  16,  he  received  his 
decretum  as  "accessist"  on  the  score  of  his  skill  in  singing  and 
his  experience  already  acquired,  including  his  capability  on  the 
violin,  which  was  the  basis  of  the  decree  of  April  24, 1764,  granting 
him  a  salary  of  100  rth.  per  annum. 

So,  at  the  age  of  22,  the  young  man  received  the  promise 
of  a  salary,  and  at  24  obtained  one  of  100  thalers.  In  1769,  he 
received  an  increase  of  25  fl.,  and  50  fl.  more  by  the  decree  of 
April  3,  1772.  He  had,  moreover,  an  opportunity  to  gain  some- 
thing by  teaching.  Not  only  did  he  give  lessons  in  singing  and 
clavier  playing  to  the  children  of  prominent  families  of  the  city, 
but  he  also  frequently  was  called  on  to  prepare  young  musicians 
for  service  in  the  chapel.  Thus  Demmer,  says  the  memorandum 
heretofore  given,  "paid  6  rth.  to  young  Mr.  Beethoven  for  3 
months";  and  a  year  later  the  following  resolve  of  the  privy 
council  was  passed: 

Ad  Suppl.  Joan  Beethoven 

The  demands  of  the  suppliant  having  been  found  to  be  correct, 
the  Electoral  Treasury  is  commanded  to  satisfy  the  debt  by  the  usual 
withdrawal  of  the  sum  from  the  salary  of  the  defendant. 

Bonn,  May  24,  1775.  Attest.  P. 

which  probably  refers  to  a  debt  contracted  by  one  of  the  women 
of  the  court  chapel.     A  few  years  later,  as  we  have  seen,  he  seems 


The  Parents  of  the  Composer  49 

to  have  been  intrusted  with  the  training  of  Johanna  Helena 
Averdonck,  whom  he  brought  forward  as  his  pupil  in  March,  1778, 
and  the  singer  Gazzenello  was  his  pupil  before  she  went  elsewhere. 
It  was  largely  his  own  fault  that  the  musically  gifted  man  was 
unfortunate  in  both  domestic  and  official  relations.  His  intem- 
perance in  drink,  probably  inherited  from  his  mother  but  attribu- 
ted by  old  Fischer  to  the  wine  trade  in  which  his  father  embarked, 
made  itself  apparent  at  an  early  date,  and  by  yielding  to  it  more 
and  more  as  he  grew  older  he  undoubtedly  impaired  his  voice  and 
did  much  to  bring  about  his  later  condition  of  poverty.  How  it 
finally  led  to  a  catastrophe  we  shall  see  later.  According  to  the 
testimony  of  the  widow  Karth,  he  was  a  tall,  handsome  man,  and 
wore  powdered  hair  in  his  later  years.  Fischer  does  not  wholly 
agree  with  her:  "of  medium  height,  longish  face,  broad  forehead, 
round  nose,  broad  shoulders,  serious  eyes,  face  somewhat  scarred, 
thin  pigtail."  Three  and  a  half  years  after  obtaining  his  salary 
of  100  th.  he  ventured  to  marry.  Heinrich  Kewerich,  the  father 
of  his  wife,  was  head  cook  in  that  palace  at  Ehrenbreitstein  in 
which  Clemens  danced  himself  out  of  this  world,  but  he  died  before 
that  event  took  place. ^  His  wife,  as  the  church  records  testify, 
was  Anna  Clara  Daubach.  Her  daughter  Maria  Magdalena, 
born  December  19,  1746,  married  a  certain  Johann  Laym,  valet 
of  the  Elector  of  Treves,  on  January  30,  1763.  On  November 
28,  1765,  the  husband  died,  and  Maria  Magdalena  was  a  widow 
before  she  had  completed  her  19th  year.  In  a  little  less  than  two 
years  the  marriage  register  of  St.  Remigius,  at  Bonn,  was  enriched 
by  this  entry: 

12ma  dhria.  Praevia  Dispensations  super  3hus  dennntiationibus 
copulavi  D.  Joannem  van  Beethoven,  Dni.  Ludovici  van  Beethoven  et 
Mariae  Josephae  Poll  conjngum  filium  legitimum,  et  Mariam  Magdalenam 
Keferich  vidnam  Leym  ex  Ehrenbreitstein,  Ilenrici  Keferich  et  annae  clarae 
Westorffs  filiarn  legitiniam.  Coram  testibus  Josepho  clemente  Belseruski 
et  philippo  Salomon. 

That  is,  Johann  van  Beethoven  has  married  the  young 
widow  Laym. 

How  it  came  that  the  marriage  took  place  in  Bonn  instead  of 
the  home  of  the  bride  we  are  told  by  Fischer.  Chnpchiiaster  van 
Beethoven   was  not  at  all  agreed    tliat  his  son   should   marry  a 

'Thechurch  rcforcls  at  Ehrenbreitstein  say  that  hedicd  August  i,  17.59.  in  Molzberg, 
at  the  afje  of  .5S;  his  funeral  took  place  in  Klircnhrcilstein.  A  Fran  Kva  Kalharina 
Kewerich,  who  cli<-d  at  Fihrenbrcitstein  (jn  October  10,  175.'J,  at  the  age  of  8U  years,  was 
probably  his  mother. 


50  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

woman  of  a  lower  station  in  life  than  his  own.  He  did  not  continue 
his  opposition  against  the  fixed  determination  of  his  son;  but  it 
is  to  be  surmised  that  he  would  not  have  attended  a  ceremony  in 
Ehrenbreitstein,  and  hence  the  matter  was  disposed  of  quickly 
in  Bonn.  After  the  wedding  the  young  pair  paid  a  visit  of  a  few 
days'  duration  to  Ehrenbreitstein. 

Fischer  describes  Madame  van  Beethoven  as  a  "handsome, 
slender  person"  and  tells  of  her  "rather  tall,  longish  face,  a  nose 
somewhat  bent  (gehoffelt,  in  the  dialect  of  Bonn),  spare,  earnest 
eyes."  Cacilia  Fischer  could  not  recall  that  she  had  ever  seen 
Madame  van  Beethoven  laugh;  "she  was  always  serious."  Her 
life's  vicissitudes  may  have  contributed  to  this  disposition: — • 
the  early  loss  of  her  father,  and  of  her  first  husband,  and  the 
death  of  her  mother  scarcely  more  than  a  year  after  her  second 
marriage.  It  is  difficult  to  form  a  conception  of  her  character 
because  of  the  paucity  of  information  about  her.  Wegeler  lays 
stress  upon  her  piety  and  gentleness;  her  amiability  and  kindliness 
towards  her  family  appear  from  all  the  reports;  nevertheless, 
Fischer  betrays  the  fact  that  she  could  be  vehement  in  contro- 
versies with  the  other  occupants  of  the  house.  "Madame  van 
Beethoven,"  Fisciier  continues,  "was  a  clever  woman;  she  could 
give  converse  and  reply  aptly,  politely  and  modestly  to  high  and 
low,  and  for  this  reason  she  was  much  liked  and  respected.  She 
occupied  herself  with  sewing  and  knitting.  They  led  a  righteous 
and  peaceful  married  life,  and  paid  their  house-rent  and  baker's 
bills  promptly,  quarterly,  and  on  the  day.  She^  was  a  good,  a 
domestic  woman,  she  knew  how  to  give  and  also  how  to  take  in  a 
manner  that  is  becoming  to  all  people  of  honest  thoughts."  From 
this  it  is  fair  to  assume  that  she  strove  to  conduct  her  household 
judiciously  and  economically;  whether  or  not  this  was  always 
possible  in  view  of  the  limited  income,  old  Fischer  does  not  seem 
to  have  been  informed.  She  made  the  best  she  could  of  the 
weaknesses  of  her  husband  without  having  been  able  to  influence 
him;  her  care  for  the  children  in  externals  was  not  wholly  sufficient. 
Young  Ludwig  clung  to  her  with  a  tender  love,  more  than  to  the 
father,  who  was  "only  severe";  but  there  is  nothing  anywhere  to 
indicate  that  she  exerted  an  influence  upon  the  emotional  life 
and  development  of  her  son,  and  in  respect  of  this  no  wrong  will 
be  done  her  if  the  lower  order  of  her  culture  be  taken  into  consider- 
ation.    Nor  must  it  be  forgotten  that  in  all  probability  she  was 

^Some  notes  by  Fischer  contain  the  characteristic  addition:  "Madame  van  Beet- 
hoven once  remarked  that  the  most  necessary  things,  such  as  house-rent,  the  baker, 
shoemaker  and  tailor  must  first  be  paid,  but  she  would  never  pay  drinking  debts." 


Character  of  Mme.  van  Beethoven  51 

naturally  delicate  and  that  her  health  was  still  further  weak- 
ened by  her  domestic  troubles  and  frequent  accouchements. 
The  "quiet,  suffering  woman,"  as  Madame  Karth  calls  her,  died 
in  1787  of  consumption  at  the  age  of  40  years.  Long  years  after 
in  Vienna  Beethoven  was  wont,  when  among  his  intimate  friends, 
to  speak  of  his  "excellent"  {vortrefflicJie)  mother.^ 

At  the  time  when  Johann  van  Beethoven  married,  there  was 
quite  a  colony  of  musicians,  and  other  persons  in  the  service  of 
the  court,  in  the  Bonngasse,  as  that  street  is  in  part  named  which 
extends  from  the  lower  extremity  of  the  market-place  to  the 
Cologne  gate.  Chapelmaste^  van  Beethoven  had  left  the  house 
in  the  Rheingasse  and  lived  at  No.  386.  In  the  adjoining  house, 
north.  No.  387,  lived  the  musical  family  Ries.  Farther  down,  the 
east  house  on  that  side  of  the  way  before  the  street  assumes  the 
name  Kolnerstrasse  was  the  dwelling  of  the  hornist,  afterward 
publisher,  Simrock.  Nearly  opposite  the  chapelmaster's  the  second 
story  of  the  house  No.  515  was  occupied  (but  not  till  after  1771) 
by  the  Salomons;  the  parterre  and  first  floor  by  the  owner  of  the 
house,  a  lace-maker  or  dealer  in  laces,  named  Clasen.  Of  the 
two  adjoining  houses  the  one  No.  576  was  the  dwelling  of  Johann 
Baum,  a  master  locksmith,  doubtless  the  Jean  Courtin,  "serrurier," 
of  the  Court  Calendar  for  1773.  In  No.  617  was  the  family 
Hertel,  twelve  or  fifteen  years  later  living  under  the  Beethovens 
in  the  Wenzelgasse,  and  not  far  off  a  family.  Poll,  perhaps  rela- 
tions of  Madame  Beethoven  the  elder.  Conrad  Poll's  name  is 
found  in  the  Court  Calendars  of  the  1770's  as  one  of  the  eight 
Electoral   "Heiducken"   (footmen).     In   1767  in   the  rear  of  the 

^In  the  collection  of  Beethoven  relics  in  the  Beethoven  House  in  Bonn  there  is  a 
portrait  which  is  set  down  as  that  of  Beethoven's  mother.  The  designation,  however, 
rests  only  on  uncertain  tradition  and  lacks  authoritative  attestation.  It  is  certainly 
difficult  to  see  in  it  the  representation  of  a  consumptive  woman  only  40  years  old.  More- 
over, it  is  strange  that  Beethoven  should  have  sent  from  Vienna  for  the  portrait  of  his 
grandfather  and  not  for  that  of  his  dearly  loved  mother  had  one  bei-n  in  existence.  It 
is  only  because  of  .a  resemblance  between  this  f)icture  and  another  that  the  belief  exists 
that  fKjrtraits  of  both  of  the  parents  of  Beethoven  are  in  existence.  In  IfSDO  two  oil 
portraits  were  found  in  a  shed  in  Cologne  and  restored  by  the  painter  Kempen,  who 
recognized  in  them  the  handiwork  of  the  painter  Beckenkamp,  who,  like  Beethoven's 
mother,  was  born  in  Khrenbreitslein,  was  a  visitor  at  the  Beethoven  home  in  Bonn  an<l 
died  in  Cologne  in  \HiH.  TIk;  female  portrait  agrees  with  that  in  Bonn;  they  are  life- 
size,  finely  executed  [)ictur<'s,  but  they  are  certainly  not  Beethoven's  parents.  Hnoiigh 
has  been  said  alniut  the  portrait  of  thi-  mother.  In  the  case  of  that  of  the  father  the 
first  objection  is  that  it  also  lacks  authentication.  Fi.scher's  description  <loes  not  wholly 
fit  the  picture;  the  old  man  would  not  have  forgotten  the  protruding  lower  li|).  But 
the  cnlirf;  expression  of  the  face,  sericjus,  it  is  true,  but  fleshy  and  vulgar,  an<l  llu"  gray 
perru(pif,  do  not  conform  to  what  we  know  of  the  easy-going  musician.  It  will  be  diffi- 
cult, too,  to  traee  any  resemblance  of  expression  Ixrtwecn  it  and  the  familiar  one  of 
Beethoven  from  which  a  conclusion  might  be  drawn.  So  long  as  i)roofs  are  wanting, 
scientific  biography  will  have  no  right  to  accept  the  portraits  as  those  of  Beethoven's 
parents.  Reproductions  of  them  may  be  found  in  the  "Musical  Times"  of  London, 
December  15,  \H'i)%. 


52  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

Clasen  house,  north/  there  was  a  lodging  to  let;  and  there  the 
newly  married  Beethovens  began  their  humble  housekeeping. 
Their  first  child  was  a  son,  Ludwig  Maria,  baptized  April  2,  1769, 
whose  sponsors,  as  may  be  read  in  the  register  of  St.  Remigius 
parish,  were  the  grandfather  Beethoven  and  Anna  Maria  Lohe, 
wife  of  Jean  Courtin,  the  next-door  neighbor.  This  child  lived 
but  six  days.  In  two  years  the  loss  of  the  parents  was  made  up 
by  the  birth  of  him  who  is  the  subject  of  this  biography. 

^The  house  is  now  owned  by  the  Beethoven-Haus  Verein,  and  maintained  as  a 
Beethoven  museum. 


Chapter  III 


The  Childhood  of  Beethoven  —  An  Inebriate  Grandmother 
and  a  Dissipated  Father — ^The  Family  Homes  in  Bonn 
— The  Boy's  Schooling  —  His  Music  Teachers — Visits 
Holland  with  his  Mother. 

THERE  is  no  authentic  record  of  Beethoven's  birthday.  Wege- 
ler,  on  the  ground  of  custom  in  Bonn,  dates  it  the  day  preced- 
ing the  ceremony  of  baptism — an  opinion  which  Beethoven 
himself  seems  to  have  entertained.  It  is  the  official  record  of  this 
baptism  only  that  has  been  preserved.  In  the  registry  of  the 
parish  of  St.  Remigius  the  entry  appears  as  follows: 

Parentes:  Proles:  Patrini: 

D:  Joannes  van  17ma  Xhris.  D:   Ludovicus   van 

Beethoven   <Sc  Helena  Ludovicus  Beethoven  & 

Keverichs,  conjuges  Gertrudis    Mullers 

dicta  Baums 

The  sponsors,  therefore,  were  Beethoven's  grandfather  the 
chapelmaster,  and  the  wife  of  the  next-door  neighbor,  Joliann 
Baum,  secretary  at  the  electoral  cellar.  The  custom  obtaining 
at  the  time  in  the  Catholic  Rhine  country  not  to  postpone  the 
baptism  beyond  24  hours  after  the  birth  of  a  child,  it  is  in  the 
highest  degree  probable  that  Beethoven  was  born  on  December 
16,  1770.' 

Of  several  certificates  of  baptism  the  following  is  copied  in  full 
for  the  sake  of  a  remark  upon  it  written  by  the  master's  own  hand : 

'In  one  of  Ilcethoven'.s  ronvcr.sjilion  l)ook.s  his  noplicw  writes  on  DccemlxT  l.'i, 
1823:  "To-day  is  the  15th  of  December,  the  day  of  your  birth,  l)ut  I  am  not  sure  whetlu-r 
it  is  the  15th  or  17th,  inasmuch  as  we  can  not  depend  on  the  certificate  of  baptism 
and  I  read  it  only  once  wlien  I  was  still  with  you  in  January."  The  nephew,  it  will  be 
observed,  docs  not  appeal  to  a  family  tradition  but  to  the  baptismal  cerlificat*-.  and  the 
uncertainty,  tlwrefore,  is  with  reference  to  the  date  of  baptism,  not  of  birth.  Hence  the 
deduction  which  Kalischer  makes  ("Vossische  Zeitunf?,"  No.  17,  IH'fl)  that  Mcfthoven 
was  born  on  December  15.  Hesse  calls  to  witness  a  clerk  employed  in  Simrock's  estab- 
lishment with  whom  Beethoven  hafi  business  transactions,  and  who  had  written  on  the 
back  of  the  announcement  of  Beethoven's  death,  "L.  v.  Beethoven  was  born  oa  Decem- 
ber 16,  1770." 

[53] 


54  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

Department  de  Rhin  et  Moselle 
Mairie  de  Bonn. 

Extraii  du  Registre  de  Naissances  de  la  Paroisse 
de  St.  Remy  a  Bonn. 

Anno  millesimo  septingentesimo  septuagesimo,  de  decima  septima 
Decembris  haptizatus  est  Ludovicus.  Parenies  D:  Joannes  van  Beethoven 
et  Helena'^  Keverichs,  conjuges.  Patrini,  D:  Ludovicus  van  Beethoven  et 
Gertrudis  Mullers  dicta  Baums. 

Pour  extrait  conforme 
delivrS  a  la  Mairie  de  Bonn. 

Bonn  le  2  Juin,  1810. 
[Signatures  and  official  seals.] 

On  the  back  of  this  paper  Beethoven  wrote : 

"Es   scheint    der   Taufschein   nicht   richtig, 
1772  da  noch  ein  Ludwig  vor  mir.     Eine  Baum- 

garten   war  glaube   ich   mein   Pathe. 
Ludwig  van  Beethoven. "^ 

The  composer,  then,  even  in  his  fortieth  year  still  believed 
the  correct  date  to  be  1772,  which  is  the  one  given  in  all  the  old 
biographical  notices,  and  which  corresponds  to  the  dates  aflBxed 
to  many  of  his  first  works,  and  indeed  to  nearly  all  allusions  to 
his  age  in  his  early  years.  Only  by  keeping  this  fact  in  mind, 
can  the  long  list  of  chronological  contradictions,  which  continually 
meet  the  student  of  his  history  during  the  first  half  of  his  life, 
be  explained  or  comprehended.  Whoever  examines  the  original 
record  of  baptism  in  the  registry  at  Bonn,  sees  instantly  that 
the  certificate,  in  spite  of  Beethoven,  is  correct;  but  all  possible 
doubt  is  removed  by  the  words  of  Wegeler: 

Little  Louis  clung  to  this  grandfather  .  .  .  with  the  greatest  affec- 
tion, and,  young  as  he  was  when  he  lost  him,  his  early  impressions  always 
remained  lively.  He  liked  to  speak  of  his  grandfather  with  the  friends 
of  his  youth,  and  his  pious  and  gentle  mother,  whom  he  loved  much  more 
than  he  did  his  father,  who  was  only  severe,  was  obliged  to  tell  him  much 
of  his  grandfather. 

Had  1772  been  the  correct  date  the  child  could  never  have 
retained  personal  recollections  of  a  man  who  died  on  December 
2-4,  1773.  A  survey  of  the  whole  ground  renders  the  conclusion 
irresistible  that  at  the  time  when  the  boy  began  to  attract  notice 

^The  mistake  in  the  mother's  name  is  sufficiently  explained  by  the  use  of  Lena  as 
the  contraction  of  both  Helena  and  Magdalena. 

^"The  baptismal  certificate  seems  to  be  incorrect,  since  there  was  a  Ludwig  born 
before  me.     A  Baumgarten  was  my  sponsor,  I  believe.     Ludwig  van  Beethoven." 


The  Date  of  Beethoven's  Birth  55 

by  his  skill  upon  the  pianoforte  and  by  the  promise  of  his  first 
attempts  in  composition,  his  age  was  purposely  falsified,  a  motive 
for  which  may  perhaps  be  found  in  the  excitement  caused  in  the 
musical  world  by  the  then  recent  career  of  the  Mozart  children,  and 
in  the  reflection  that  attainments  which  in  a  child  of  eight  or 
ten  years  excite  wonder  and  astonishment  are  considered  hardly 
worthy  of  special  remark  in  one  a  few  years  older.  There  is,  un- 
fortunately, nothing  known  of  Johann  van  Beethoven's  character 
which  renders  such  a  trick  improbable.  Noteworthy  is  it  that, 
at  first,  the  falsification  rarely  extends  beyond  one  year;  and, 
also,  that  in  an  official  report  in  1784  the  correct  age  is  given. 
Here  an  untruth  could  not  be  risked,  nor  be  of  advantage  if  it  had 
been. 

Dr.  C.  M.  Kneisel,  who  championed  the  cause  of  the  house 
in  the  Bonngasse  in  a  controversy  conducted  in  the  "Kolnische 
Zeitung"  in  1845,  touching  the  birthplace  of  Beethoven,  remarks 
that  the  mother  "was,  as  is  known,  a  native  of  the  Ehrenbreit- 
stein  valley  and  separated  from  her  relatives;  he  (Johann  van 
Beethoven)  was  without  relatives  and  in  somewhat  straitened 
circumstances  financially.  What,  then,  was  more  natural  than 
that  he  should  invite  his  neighbor,  Frau  Baum,  a  respected  and 
well-to-do  woman,  in  whose  house  the  baptismal  feast  ivas  held,  to 
be  sponsor  for  his  little  son.^"  This  last  fact  indicates  clearly 
the  narrowness  of  the  quarters  in  which  the  young  couple  dwelt. 
Does  it  not  also  hint  that  the  grandfather  was  now  a  solitary  man 
with  no  home  in  which  to  spread  the  little  feast.^^  Let  Johann 
van  Beethoven  himself  describe  the  pecuniary  condition  in  which 
he  found  himself  upon  the  death  of  his  father: 

Most  Reverend  Archbishop, 
Most  Gracious  Elector  and  Lord,  Lord. 

Will  Your  Electoral  Grace  graciously  he  pleased  to  hear  that  my 
father  has  j>H.ssed  away  from  this  world,  to  whom  it  was  granted  to  serve 
his  Electoral  Grace  Clemens  August  and  Your  Electoral  Grace  and 
gloriously  reigning  Lord  Lord  42  years,  as  chapelmaster  with  great 
honor,  whose  position  I  have  been  found  capable  of  filling,  but  nevertheless 
I  would  not  venture  to  offer  my  capacity  to  Your  Electoral  (Jrace,  but 
since  the  death  of  my  father  has  left  me  in  needy  circumstances  my 
salary  not  sufficing  and  I  comf)eIlcd  to  draw  on  the  savings  of  my  father, 
my  mother  still  living  ;iiul  in  a  cloister  at  a  cost  of  00  rth.  for  boanl 
and  lodging  eacli  year  and  it  is  not  advisable  for  me  to  take  her  to  my 
home.  Your  Electoral  Grace  is  therefore  humbly  implored  to  make  an 
allowance  from  the  400  rth.  vacated  for  an  increase  of  my  salary  so 
that  I  may  not  need  to  draw  upon  the  little  sjivings  and  my  mother 
may    receive    the    pension    graciously    for    the    few    years    which    she 


56  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

may  yet   live,  to   deserve   which   high   grace   it   shall   always   be  my 

striving. 

Your   Electoral    Grace's 

Most  humble  and  obedient 
Servant  and  musicus  jean  van  Beethoven. 

There  is  something  bordering  on  the  comic  in  the  coolness 
of  the  hint  here  given  that  the  petitioner  would  not  object  to  an 
appointment  as  his  father's  successor,  especially  when  it  is  remem- 
bered that  Lucchesi  and  Mattioli  were  already  in  Bonn  and  the 
former  had  sufficiently  proved  his  capacity  by  producing  success- 
ful operas,  both  text  and   music,  for  the  Elector's  delectation. 
The  hint  was  not  taken;  what > provision  was  granted  him,  how- 
ever, may  be  seen  from  a  petition  of  January  8,  1774,  praying 
for  an  addition  to  his  salary  from  that  made  vacant  by  the  death 
of  his  father,  and  a  pension  to  his  mother  who  is  kept  at  board 
in  a  cloister.     A  memorandum  appears  on  the  margin  to  the  effect 
that  the  Elector  graciously  consents  that  the  widow,  so  long  as 
she    remains    in    the    cloister,   shall    receive    60  rth.    quarterly. 
Another  petition  of  a  year  later  has  been  lost,  but  its  contents  are 
indicated  in  the  response,  dated  June  5,  1775,  that  Johann  van 
Beethoven  on  the  death  of  his  mother  shall  have  the  enjoyment 
of  the  60  rth.  which  had  been  granted  her.     The  death  of  the 
mother  followed  a  few  months  later  and  was  thus  announced  in 
the  "Intelligenzblatt"  of   Bonn   on   October  3,    1775:  "Died,  on 
September  30,  Maria  Josepha  Pals  (sic),  widow  van  Beethoven, 
aged  61  years."     In  a  hst  of  salaries  for  1776  (among  the  papers 
at  Dusseldorf)  for  the  "Musik  Parthie"  the  salary  of  Johann  van 
Beethoven  is  given  at  36  rth.  45  alb.  payable  quarterly.      The 
fact  of  the  great  poverty  in  which  he  and  his  family  lived  is  mani- 
fest from  the  official  documents  (which  confirm  the  many  tradi- 
tions to  that  effect)  and  from  the  more  important  recollections  of 
aged  people  of  Bonn  brought  to  light  in  a  controversy  concern- 
ing the  birthplace  of  the  composer.     For  instance.  Dr.  Hennes, 
in  his  unsuccessful  effort  to  establish  the  claims  of  the  Fischer 
house  in  the  Rheingasse,  says:  "The  legacy  left  him  (Johann  van 
Beethoven)   by  his  father  did  not  last  long.     That  fine  linen, 
which,  as  I  was  told,  could  be  drawn  through  a  ring,  found  its  way, 
piece  by  piece,  out  of  the  house;  even  the  beautiful  large  portrait 
showing  the  father  wearing  a  tasseled  cap  and  holding  a  roll  of 
music,  went  to  the  second-hand  shop."     This  is  an  error,  though 
the  painting  may  have  gone  for  a  time  to  the  pawnbroker. 

From  the  Bonngasse  the  Beethovens  removed,  when,  is  un- 
certain, to  a  house  No.  7  or  No.  8  on  the  left  as  one  enters  the 


The  Boy  Beethoven's  Early  Study  57 

Dreieckplatz  in  passing  from  the  Sternstrasse  to  the  Munsterplatz. 
They  were  Hving  there  in  1774,  for  the  baptism  of  another  son 
on  the  8th  of  April  of  that  year  is  recorded  in  the  register  of  the 
parish  of  St.   Gangolph,  to  which  those  houses  belonged.     This 
child's  name  was  Caspar  Anton  Carl,  the  first  two  names  from  his 
sponsor  the  Minister  Belderbusch,  the  third  from  Caroline  von 
Satzenhofen,  Abbess  of  Vilich.     Was  this  condescension  on  the 
part  of  the  minister  and  the  abbess  intended  to  soothe  the  father 
under  the  failure  of  his  hopes  of  advancement?     From  the  Dreieck- 
platz the  Beethovens  migrated  to  the  Fischer  house.  No.  934  in 
the  Rheingasse,  so  long  held  to  be  the  composer's  birthplace  and 
long  thereafter  distinguished  by  a  false  inscription  to  that  effect. 
Whether  the  removal  took  place  in  Ludwig's  fifth  or  sixth  year 
is  not  known;  but  at  all  events  it  was  previous  to  the  2nd  of 
October,  1776,  for  upon  that  day  another  son  of  Johann  van  Beet- 
hoven .was  baptized  in  the  parish  of  St.  Remigius  by  the  name  of 
Nicholas  Johann,     Dr.  Hennes   in   his  letter  to  the  "Kolnische 
Zeitung"  lays  much  stress  upon  the  testimony  of  Cacilia  Fischer. 
He  says:   "the   maiden   lady  of   76  years,  Cacilia   Fischer,   still 
remembers  distinctly  to  have  seen  little  Louis  in  his  cradle  and 
can  tell  many  anecdotes  about  him,  etc."     The  mistake  is  easily 
explained    without    supposing    any    intentional    deception: — 6'2 
vears  afterwards  she  mistook  the  birth  of  Nicholas  Johann  for 
that  of  Ludwig.     According  to  Fischer's  report  the  family  re- 
moved from  this  house  in  1776  for  a  short  time  to  one  in  the 
Neugasse,  but  returned  again  to  the  house  in  the  Rheingasse 
after  the  palace  fire  in  1777.     One  thought  which  suggests  itself 
in   relation   to  these  removals  of  Johann   van   Beethoven   may, 
perhaps,  be  more  than  mere  fancy:  that  in  expectation  of  advance- 
ment in  position  upon  the  death  of  his  father  he  had  exchanged 
the  narrow  quarters  of  the  lodging  in  the  rear  of  the  Clasen  house 
for  the  much  better  dwelling  in  the  Dreieckplatz;  but  upon  the 
failure  of  his  hopes  had  been  fain  to  seek  a  cheaper  place  in  the 
lower  part  of  the  town  down  near  the  river. 

There  is  nothing  decisive  as  to  the  time  when  the  musical 
education  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven  l)egan,  nor  any  positive 
evidence  that  he,  like  Handel,  Haydn  or  Mozart,  showed  remark- 
able genius  for  the  art  at  a  very  early  age.  Schlosser  has  some- 
thing on  tin's  point,  but  he  gives  no  authorities,  wliile  the  partic- 
ulars which  he  relates  could  not  possibly  have  come  under  his 
own    ol>servation.     Mtiller'  had    heard    from    Franz    Ries    and 

'"Allg.  Mu3.-Ztg.,"  May  23.  1827. 


58  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

Nicholas  Simrock  that  Johann  van  Beethoven  gave  his  son  in- 
struction upon  the  pianoforte  and  vioHn  "in  his  earhest  childhood. 
...  To  scarcely  anything  else  did  he  hold  him."  In  the 
dedication  of  the  pianoforte  sonatas  (1783)  to  the  Elector,  the 
boy  is  made  to  say:  "Music  became  my  first  youthful  pursuit 
in  my  fourth  year,"  which  might  be  supposed  decisive  on  the  point 
if  his  age  were  not  falsely  given  on  the  title-page.  This  much  is 
certain:  that  after  the  removal  to  the  Fischer  house  the  child 
had  his  daily  task  of  musical  study  and  practice  given  him  and  in 
spite  of  his  tears  was  forced  to  execute  it.  "Cacilia  Fischer," 
writes  Hennes  (1838),  "still  sees  him,  a  tiny  boy,  standing  on  a 
little  footstool  in  front  of  the  clavier  to  which  the  implacable  sever- 
ity of  his  father  had  so  early  condemned  him.  The  patriarch  of 
Bonn,  Head  Burgomaster  Windeck,/will  pardon  me  if  I  appeal  to 
him  to  say  that  he,  too,  saw  the  little  Louis  van  Beethoven  in  this 
house  standing  in  front  of  the  clavier  and  weeping."  To  this 
writes  Dr.  Wegeler: 

I  saw  the  same  thing.  How?  The  Fischer  house  was,  perhaps 
still  is,  connected  by  a  passage-way  in  the  rear  with  a  house  in  the 
Giergasse,  which  was  then  occupied  by  the  owner,  a  high  official  of  the 
Rhenish  revenue  service,  Mr.  Bachen,  grandfather  of  Court  Councillor 
Bachen  of  this  city.  The  youngest  son  of  the  latter,  Benedict,  was  my 
schoolmate,  and  on  my  visits  to  him  the  doings  and  sufferings  of  Louis 
were  visible  from  the  house. 

It  must  be  supposed  that  the  father  had  seen  indications  of 
his  son's  genius,  for  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  such  an  one  remaining 
unperceived ;  but  the  necessities  of  the  family  with  the  failure 
of  the  petition  for  a  better  salary — sent  in  just  at  the  time  when 
the  Elector  was  so  largely  increasing  his  expenditures  for  music 
by  the  engagement  of  Lucchesi  and  Mattioli  and  in  other  ways — - 
are  sufficient  reasons  for  the  inflexible  severity  with  which  the 
boy  was  kept  at  his  studies.  The  desire  to  say  something  new 
and  striking  on  the  part  of  many  who  have  written  about  Beet- 
hoven has  led  to  such  an  admixture  of  fact  and  fancy  that  it  is 
now  very  difficult  to  separate  them.  One  (Schlosser)  tells  his 
readers  that  "the  greatest  joy  of  the  lad  was  when  his  father  took 
him  upon  his  knees  and  permitted  him  to  accompany  a  song  on 
the  clavier  with  his  tiny  fingers,"  while  others  tell  the  tale  of 
his  childhood  in  a  manner  to  convey  the  idea  that  the  father  was 
a  pitiless  tyrant,  the  boy  a  victim  and  a  slave — an  error  which 
a  calm  consideration  of  what  is  really  known  of  the  facts  in  the 
case  at  once  dispels.  There  is  but  one  road  to  excellence,  even 
for  the  genius  of  a  Handel  or  a  Mozart — unremitted    application. 


Paucity  of  Intellectual  Training  59 

To  this  young  Liidwig  was  compelled,  sometimes,  no  doubt, 
through  the  fear  or  the  actual  infliction  of  punishment  for  neglect; 
sometimes,  too,  the  father,  whose  habits  were  such  as  to  favor 
a  bad  interpretation  of  his  conduct,  was  no  doubt  harsh  and  un- 
just. And  such  seems  to  be  the  truth.  At  any  rate,  the  boy  at 
an  early  date  acquired  so  considerable  a  facility  upon  the  clavier 
that  his  father  could  have  him  play  at  court  and  when  he  was 
seven  years  old  produce  him  with  one  of  his  pupils  at  a  concert  in 
Bonn.  Here  is  the  announcement  of  the  concert  as  it  was  repro- 
duced in  the  "Kolnische  Zeitung"  of  December  18,  1870,  from 
the  original: 

AVERTISSEMENT 

To-day,  March  26,  1778,  in  the  musical  concert-room  in  the  Sternen- 
gasse  the  Electoral  Court  Tenorist,  Beethoven,  will  have  the  honor  to 
produce  two  of  his  scholars,  namely.  Mile.  Averdonck,  Court  Con- 
traltist,  and  his  little  son  of  six  years.  The  former  will  have  the  honor 
to  contribute  various  beautiful  arias,  the  latter  various  clavier  concertos 
and  trios.  He  flatters  himself  that  he  will  give  complete  enjoyment  to 
all  ladies  and  gentlemen,  the  more  since  both  have  had  the  honor  of 
playing  to  the  greatest  delight  of  the  entire  Court. 

Beginning  at  five  o'clock  in  the  evening. 

Ladies  and  gentlemen  who  have  not  subscribed  will  be  charged  a 
florin.  Tickets  may  be  had  at  the  aforesaid  Akademiesaal,  also  of 
Mr.  Claren  auf  der  Bach  in  Miihlenstein. 

Unfortunately  we  learn  nothing  concerning  the  pieces  played 
by  the  boy  nor  of  the  success  of  his  performance.  That  the  violin 
as  well  as  the  pianoforte  was  practised  by  him  is  implicitly  con- 
firmed by  the  terms  in  which  Schindler  records  his  denial  of  the 
truth  of  the  well-known  spider  story:  "The  great  Ludwig  refused 
to  remember  any  such  incident,  much  as  the  tale  amused  him. 
On  the  contrary,  he  said  it  was  more  to  be  expected  that  every- 
thing would  have  fled  from  his  scraping,  even  flies  and  spiders." 

T})c  father's  main  object  being  the  earliest  and  greatest 
development  of  his  son's  musical  genius  so  as  to  make  it  a  "market- 
able commodity,"  he  gave  him  no  other  school  education  than 
such  as  was  afi'orded  in  one  of  the  public  schools.  Fischer  says 
he  first  attended  a  school  in  the  Neugasse  taught  by  a  man  named 
Hiii)perti  and  thence  went  to  the  Munstcrscluile.  Among  the 
lower  grade  schools  in  Bonn  was  the  so-caUed  Tirocinium,  a  Latin 
school,  which  prepared  pupils  for  the  gynniasium   but   was   not 

'There  was  no  teacher  of  this  name  in  Bonn  at  the  time.  There  was  a  Rupert, 
however,  who  may  have  been  the  one  meant  by  Fischer. 


60  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

directly  connected  with  it,  but  had  its  own  corps  of  teachers,  like 
the  whole  educational  system  of  the  period,  under  the  supervision 
of  the  Academic  Council  established  by  Max  Friedrich  in  1777. 
The  pupils  learned,  outside  of  the  elementary  studies  (arithmetic 
and  writing  are  said  to  have  been  excluded),  to  read  and  write 
Latin  up  to  an  understanding  of  Cornelius  Nepos.  Johann  Krengel, 
a  much  respected  pedagogue,  was  teacher  at  the  time  and  was 
appointed  municipal  schoolmaster  in  1783  by  the  Academic 
Council.  In  1786  he  transferred  the  school  to  the  Bonngasse. 
To  this  school  young  Beethoven  was  sent;  when,  is  uncertain. 
His  contemporary  and  schoolfellow  Wurzer,  Electoral  Councillor 
and  afterwards  president  of  the  Landgericht,  relates  the  following 
in  his  memoirs:^ 

One  of  my  schoolmates  under  Krengel  was  Luis  van  Beethoven, 
whose  father  held  an  appointment  as  court  singer  under  the  Elector. 
Apparently  his  mother  was  already  dead  at  the  time,^  for  Luis  v.  B.  was 
distinguished  by  uncleanliness,  negligence,  etc.  Not  a  sign  was  to  be 
discovered  in  him  of  that  spark  of  genius  which  glowed  so  brilliantly 
in  him  afterwards.  I  imagine  that  he  was  kept  down  to  his  musical 
studies  from  an  early  age  by  his  father. 

Wurzer  entered  the  gymnasium  in  1781;  Beethoven  did  not. 
This,  therefore,  must  have  been  the  time  at  which  all  other  studies 
were  abandoned  in  favor  of  music.  .  In  what  manner  his  educa- 
tion was  otherwise  pieced  out  is  not  to  be  learned.  The  lack  of 
proper  intellectual  discipline  is  painfully  obvious  in  Beethoven's 
letters  throughout  his  life.  In  his  early  manhood  he  wrote  a 
fair  hand,  so  very  different  from  the  shocking  scrawl  of  his  later 
years  as  to  make  one  almost  doubt  the  genuineness  of  autographs 
of  that  period;  but  in  orthography,  the  use  of  capital  letters, 
punctuation  and  arithmetic  he  was  sadly  deficient  all  his  life  long. 
He  was  still  able  to  use  the  French  tongue  at  a  later  period,  and 
of  Latin  he  had  learned  enough  to  understand  the  texts  which 
he  composed;  but  even  as  a  schoolboy  his  studies  appear  to  have 
been  made  second  to  his  musical  practice  with  which  his  hours 
out  of  school  were  apparently  for  the  most  part  occupied.  He 
was  described  by  Dr.  Miiller  as  "a  shy  and  taciturn  boy,  the  neces- 
sary consequence  of  the  life  apart  which  he  led,  observing  more 
and  pondering  more  than  he  spoke,  and  disposed  to  abandon 
himself  entirely  to  the  feelings  awakened  by  music  and   (later) 

^These  memoirs  are  in  manuscript.  They  were  formerly  in  the  possession  of  Dr. 
Bodifee  of  Bonn,  later  in  the  Town  Hall. 

*Error;  Beethoven's  mother  did  not  die  until  1787,  long  after  he  had  left  school. 


Beethoven  and  van  den  Eeden        61 

by  poetry  and  to  the  pictures  created  by  fancy."  Of  those  who 
were  his  schoolfellows  and  who  in  after  years  recorded  their  remi- 
niscences of  him,  not  one  speaks  of  him  as  a  playfellow,  none  has 
anecdotes  to  relate  of  games  with  him,  rambles  on  the  hills  or  ad- 
ventures upon  the  Rhine  and  its  shores  in  which  he  bore  a  part. 
Music  and  ever  music;  hence  the  power  of  clothing  his  thoughts 
in  words  was  not  developed  by  early  culture,  and  the  occasional 
bursts  of  eloquence  in  his  letters  and  recorded  conversations 
are  held  not  to  be  genuine,  because  so  seldom  found.  As  if  the 
strong  mind,  struggling  for  adequate  expression,  should  not  at 
times  break  through  all  barriers  and  overcome  all  obstacles  l"^ 
Urged  forward  thus  by  the  father's  severity,  by  his  tender  love 
for  his  mother  and  by  the  awakening  of  his  ovm  tastes,  the  develop- 
ment of  his  skill  and  talents  was  rapid;  so  much  so  that  in  his 
ninth  year  a  teacher  more  competent  than  his  father  was  needed. 
The  first  to  whom  his  father  turned  was  the  old  court  organ- 
ist van  den  Eeden,  who  had  been  in  the  electoral  service  about 
fifty  years  and  had  come  to  Bonn  before  the  arrival  there  of  Lud- 
wig  van  Beethoven,  the  grandfather.  One  can  easily  imagine 
his  willingness  to  serve  an  old  and  deceased  friend  by  fitting  his 
grandson  to  become  his  successor;  and  this  might  account  for 
Schlosser's  story  tliat  at  first  he  taught  him  gratis,  and  that  he 
continued  his  instructions  at  the  command  and  expense  of  the 
Elector.  The  story  may  or  may  not  be  true,  but  nothing  has 
been  discovered  in  the  archives  at  Diisseldorf  confirming  the 
statement;  in  fact  concerning  the  time,  the  subjects  and  the  re- 
sults of  van  den  Eeden's  instruction  we  are  thrown  largely  upon 
conjecture.  "In  his  eighth  year,"  says  Maurer  in  his  notices, 
"Court  Organist  van  den  Eeden  took  him  as  a  pupil;  nothing 

'Thayer's  characterization  of  the  joyless  boyhood  of  Beethoven  may  submit  to  a 
slight  modification,  at  least  so  far  as  his  childhood  is  concerned,  without  violence  to  the 
verities  of  history.  Fischer  would  have  us  believe  that  the  lad  took  part  with  his  brother 
Carl  in  boyish  capers  which  were  not  always  of  a  harmless  character.  In  a  letter  to 
Simrock,  Court  Councillor  Krupp  relates:  "My  father,  who  died  in  1847,  was  a  youthful 
friend  and  schoolmate  of  Ludwig  and  Carl  van  Heelhoven,  and  distantly  related  to  tlic 
godmother  of  the  former.  Thursdays  were  holidays  for  the  schoolboys,  and  the  brothers 
Beethoven,  L.  and  C^.,  were  then  wont  to  come  to  the  house  of  ray  grandparents.  No.  28 
Bonngassc  (now  belonging  to  my  sister  and  me),  and  amuse  themselves,  among  other 
things,  with  target  shooting.  There  was  a  wall  between  the  garden  of  our  liousc  and  the 
gardens  of  the  adjoining  houses  in  the  Wenzelgasse  against  which  the  targ<'t  was  placed 
at  which  the  boys  shot  arrows;  a  hit  in  the  centre  brought  forth  a  Sliihcr  (about  4  pfen- 
nigs) for  the  lucky  marksman.  Garden  and  wall  arc  now  (1890)  in  the  same  condition 
as  then.  In  the  evening  the  Beethoven  brothers  went  home  through  the  Gudeuauer- 
gasschen.  The  family  lived  at  the  time  in  the  Wenzelgasse  back  of  our  house."  Here 
is  an  inaccuracy,  for  Ludwig  van  Beethoven  no  longer  went  to  school  when  the  Beethoven 
familv  changed  their  house  in  the  Rheingasse  for  that  in  the  Wenzelgasse — which  waa 
probably  about  1785.  The  letter  continues:  "Ludwigs  father  treated  him  harshly, 
especially  when  he  was  intoxicated,  and  sometimes  shut  him  up  in  the  cellar." 


61  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

has  been  learned  of  his  progress."  This,  if  Maurer  was  correct 
in  stating  his  age,  would  have  been  about  1778.  It  is  after  this 
that  Maurer  refers  to  his  study  under  Pfeiffer.  Independently 
of  all  this  Fischer  says:  "His  father  not  being  able  to  teach  him 
more  in  music,  and  suspecting  that  he  had  talent  for  composition, 
took  him  at  first  to  an  aged  master  named  Santerrini  who  instructed 
him  for  a  while;  but  the  father  thought  little  of  this  teacher,  did 
not  consider  him  the  right  man  and  desired  a  change."  This 
desire  resulted  in  securing  Pfeiffer  through  the  mediation  of 
Grossmann.  There  was  no  musician  Santerrini  in  the  court  chapel, 
but  an  actor,  named  Santorini,  was  a  member  of  Grossmann's 
troupe;  he  cannot  be  considered  in  this  connection.  There  is 
evidently  a  confusion  of  names,  and  the  whole  context,  especially 
the  reference  to  the  "aged  master,"  shows  that  no  other  than  van 
<ien  Eeden  was  meant  by  the  teacher  who  gave  instruction  for  a 
short  time  before  Pfeiffer. 

t         Schlosser  does  not  say  that  this  instruction  was  on  the  organ 
and  it  is  unlikely  that  the  boy,  who  was  destined  for  a  more  sys- 
tematic instruction  in  pianoforte  playing,  was  put  at  the  organ 
at  so  early  an  age.     It  was  a  deduction,  probably,  from  the  fact 
that  van  den  Eeden  was  an  organist  and  that  later  Beethoven  dis- 
played a  great  deal  of  dexterity  upon  that  instrument.     It  is 
noteworthy   that   Wegeler   (p.  11)   says   nothing  definite   as   to 
whether  or  not  Beethoven  took  lessons  from  van  den  Eeden;  he 
merely  thought  it  likely,  because  he  knew  no  one  else  in  Bonn 
from  whom  Beethoven  could  have  learned  the  technical  handling 
of  the  organ.     But  there  were  several  such  in  Bonn  irrespective  of 
Neefe.     Schindler  makes  certainty  out  of  Wegeler 's  conjecture 
and  relates  that  Beethoven  often  spoke  of  the  old  organist  when 
discoursing  upon  the  proper  position  and  movement  of  the  body 
and  hands  in  organ  and  pianoforte  playing,  he  having  been  taught 
to  hold  both  calm  and  steady,  to  play  in  the  connected  style  of 
Handel  and  Bach.     This  may  have  been  correct  so  far  as  piano- 
forte playing  is  concerned;  but  Schindler  had  little  knowledge 
of  Beethoven's  Bonn  period,  and  the  possibility  of  a  confusion 
of  names  is  not  excluded  even  on  the  part  of  Beethoven  himself, 
who  received  hints  from  several  organists.     Maurer,  after  speak- 
ing of  Pfeiffer,  continues  as  follows:  "Van  den  Eeden  remained 
his  only  teacher  in  thorough-bass.     As  a  man  of  seventy  he  sent 
the  boy  Louis,  between  eleven  and  twelve  years  old,  to  accompany 
the  mass  and  other  church  music  on  the  organ.     His  playing 
was  so  astonishing  that  one  was  forced  to  believe  he  had  inten- 
tionally concealed  his  gifts.     While  preluding  for  the  Credo  he 


Other  Teachers  of  the  Boy  Beethoven  63 

took  a  theme  from  the  movement  and  developed  it  to  the  amaze- 
ment of  the  orchestra  so  that  he  was  permitted  to  improvise 
longer  than  is  customary.  That  was  the  opening  of  his  brilliant 
career."  Maurer  seems  to  know  nothing  of  Neefe  when  he  says 
that  van  den  Eeden  was  Beethoven's  onlj'  teacher  in  thorough- 
bass. What  he  says,  too,  about  the  lad's  performance  at  the 
organ  as  substitute  obviously  rests  upon  a  confounding  of  van 
den  Eeden  with  another  of  Beethoven's  organ  teachers — most 
likelv  Xeefe. 

It  is  our  conjecture  that  van  den  Eeden  taught  the  boy  chiefly 
and  perhaps  exclusively  pianoforte  playing,  he  being  a  master 
in  that  art;  but  his  influence  was  small.  It  must  be  remembered 
that  van  den  Eeden  was  a  very  old  man,  as  whose  successor 
Neefe  had  been  chosen  in  1781,  and  who  died  in  June,  178'-2. 
Nowhere  does  he,  like  the  other  teachers  of  Beethoven,  disclose 
individual  traits;  he  is  a  totally  colorless  picture  in  the  history 
of  Beethoven's  youth.  Nor  does  it  appear  that  there  was  any 
intimacy  between  him  and  the  Beethoven  family,  since  other- 
wise he  would  not  have  been  missing  in  the  notices  of  Fischer, 
who  does  not  even  know  his  name.  The  judgment  of  the  father 
that  his  instruction  was  inefficient  was  probably  correct. 

A  fitter  master,  it  was  thought,  was  obtained  in  Tobias 
Friedrich  Pfeiffer,  who  came  to  Bonn  in  the  summer  of  1779,  as 
tenor  singer  in  Grossmann  and  Helmuth's  theatrical  company. 
Maurer,  the  violoncellist,  in  some  reminiscences  of  that  period  com- 
municated to  this  work  by  Professor  Jahn,  says  that  Pfeiffer  was 
a  skillful  pianist  and  gave  the  boy  lessons,  but  not  at  any  regular 
hours.  Often  when  he  came  with  Beethoven,  the  father,  from 
the  wine-house  late  at  night,  the  boy  was  roused  from  sleep  and 
kept  at  the  pianoforte  until  morning; — a  course  not  particularly 
favorable  to  his  progress  at  school,  but  one  which  may  be  readily 
credited  in  the  liglit  of  what  is  known  of  Pfeiffer  and  Johann  Beet- 
hoven, and  one,  moreover,  which  would  cause  the  lessons  to  make 
an  enduring  impression  upon  the  memory.  There  is  some  reason 
to  think  that  the  former  was  an  inmate  of  the  latter's  family, 
which  adds  probability  to  the  story.  Although  Pfeiffer  was  in 
Bonn  but  one  year,  Wegeier  affirms  that  "Beethoven  owed  most 
of  all  to  this  teacher,  and  was  so  appreciative  of  the  f.act  that 
he  sent  him  financial  help  from  Vienna  through  Simrock."  To 
what  extent  Wegeler's  o[)inion  as  to  Beethoven's  obligations  is 
correct,  it  would  be  difficult  to  decide;  but  the  utter  improba- 
])ility  that  a  single  year's  lessons  from  this  man  would  profit  a 
boy  eight  and  a  half  to  nine  and  a  half  years  old,  more  than  tliose 


64  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

from  any  other  of  his  teachers,  much  longer  and  systematically 
continued,  is  manifest.  About  this  time  the  young  court  musician 
Franz  Georg  Rovantini  lived  in  the  same  house  with  Beethoven. 
He  was  the  son  of  a  violinist  Johann  Conrad  Rovantini  who  had 
been  called  to  Bonn  from  Ehrenbreitstein  and  who  died  in  1766. 
He  was  related  to  the  Beethoven  family.  The  young  musician 
was  much  respected  and  sought  after  as  teacher.  According  to 
the  Fischer  document  the  boy  Beethoven  was  among  his  pupils, 
taking  lessons  on  the  violin  and  viola.  But  these  lessons,  too, 
came  to  an  early  end;  Rovantini  died  on  September  9,  1781, 
aged  24. 

A  strong  predilection  for  the  organ  was  awakened  early  in 
the  lad  and  he  eagerly  sought  opportunities  to  study  the  instru- 
ment, apparently  even  before  he  became  Neefe's  pupil.  In  the 
cloister  of  the  Franciscan  monks  at  Bonn  there  lived  a  friar 
named  Willibald  Koch,  highly  respected  for  his  playing  and  his 
expert  knowledge  of  organ  construction.  We  have  no  reason  to 
doubt  that  young  Ludwig  sought  him  out,  received  instruction 
from  him  and  made  so  much  progress  that  Friar  Willibald  accepted 
him  as  assistant.  In  the  same  way  he  made  friends  with  the 
organist  in  the  cloister  of  the  Minorites  and  "made  an  agreement" 
to  play  the  organ  there  at  6  o'clock  morning  mass.  It  would 
seem  that  he  felt  the  need  of  familiarity  with  a  larger  organ  than 
that  of  the  Franciscans.  On  the  inside  of  the  cover  of  a  memo- 
randum book  which  he  carried  to  Vienna  with  him  is  found  the 
note:  "Measurements  (Fussmass)  of  the  Minorite  pedals  in 
Bonn."  Plainly  he  had  kept  an  interest  in  the  organ.  Still 
another  tradition  is  preserved  in  a  letter  to  the  author  from  Miss 
Auguste  Grimm,  dated  September,  1872,  to  the  effect  that  Heinrich 
Theisen,  born  in  1759,  organist  at  Rheinbreitbach  near  Honneck 
on  the  Rhine,  studied  the  organ  in  company  with  Beethoven 
under  Zenser,  organist  of  the  Miinsterkirche  at  Bonn,  and  that 
the  lad  of  ten  years  surpasseid  his  fellow  student  of  twenty.  The 
tradition  says  that  already  at  that  time  Ludwig  composed  pieces 
which  were  too  difficult  for  his  little  hands.  "Why,  you  can't 
play  that,  Ludwig,"  his  teacher  is  said  to  have  remarked,  and  the 
boy  to  have  replied:  "I  will  when  I  am  bigger." 

When  Beethoven's  studies  with  van  den  Eeden  began  and 
ended,  whether  they  were  confined  to  the  organ  or  pianoforte, 
or  partook  of  both — these  are  undecided  points.  It  does  not 
appear  that  any  instruction  in  composition  was  given  him  until 
he  became  the  pupil  of  Neefe.  In  the  facsimile  which  follows 
the  part  devoted    to  thorough-bass    in  the  so-called  "Studien,"^ 


The  Story  of  a  First  Composition  65 

the  composer  says:  "Dear  Friends:  I  took  the  pains  to  learn 
this  only  that  I  might  write  the  figures  readily  and  later  instruct 
others;  for  myself  I  never  had  to  learn  how  to  avoid  errors,  for 
from  my  childhood  I  had  so  keen  a  sensibility  that  I  wrote  cor- 
rectly without  knowing  it  had  to  be  so,  or  could  be  otherwise." 
This  lends  plausibility,  at  least,  to  another  anecdote  related  by 
Maurer  concerning  an  alleged  precocious  composition  by  Beet- 
hoven : 

About  this  time  the  English  Ambassador  to  the  Elector's  court, 
named  Kressner,  who  had  extended  help  to  the  Beethoven  family,  living 
scantily  on  a  salary  of  400  fl.  [?],  died.  Louis  composed  a  funeral  cantata 
to  his  memory — his  first  composition.  He  handed  his  score  to  Lucchesi 
and  asked  him  to  correct  the  errors.  Lucchesi  gave  it  back  with  the 
remark  that  he  could  not  understand  it,  and  therefore  could  not  comply 
with  his  request,  but  would  have  it  performed.  At  the  first  rehearsal 
there  was  great  astonishment  at  the  originality  of  the  composition,  but 
approval  was  divided;  after  a  few  rehearsals  the  approbation  grew  and 
the  piece  was  performed  with  general  applause. 

George  Cressener  came  to  Bonn  in  the  autumn  of  1755,  and 
died  there  January  17,  1781,  in  the  eighty -first  year  of  his  age. 
The  "about  this  time"  in  Maurer's  story  agrees,  therefore,  well 
enough  with  that  date;  it  is,  however,  a  suspicious  circumstance 
that  Maurer  had  left  the  service  and  returned  to  Cologne  in  the 
Spring  of  1780  and,  therefore,  was  not  eye-witness  to  the  fact; 
and  another  that  the  circumstance  was  not  remembered  by  other 
members  of  the  court  chapel,  not  even  by  Franz  Ries,  nor  by 
Neefe,  who,  though  not  then  a  member,  was  already  in  Bonn. 
"In  1780,"  continues  Maurer,  "Beethoven  got  acquainted  with 
Zaml)ona,  who  called  his  attention  to  his  neglected  education, 
gave  him  lessons  daily  in  Latin,  Louis  continuing  a  year  (in  six 
weeks  he  read  Cicero's  letters!) — also  logic,  French  and  Italian — 
until  Zambona  left  Bonn  in  order  to  become  bookkeeper  for 
Bartholdy  in  Mulilheim."  In  the  "Geheime  Staats-Conferenz 
Protocollen,"  IMay  20,  1787,  one  reads:  "Stephan  Zambona  ])rays 
to  be  api)ointcd,  Kammerportiery  etc.,"  to  which  is  api)ended  the 
remark:  "the  re(iuest  not  granted."  Zambona  is  a  name,  too, 
which,  half  a  dozen  years  later,  often  appears  in  the  Bonn  "Intel- 
ligcnzblatt,"  as  that  of  a  shopkeei)er  in  the  Market  Place  of  that 
town.  If  the  story  of  the  cantata  be  doubtful,  that  of  these 
private  studies  on  the  part  of  a  boy  in  Beethoven's  position, 
only  in  his  tenth  year  and  a  schoolboy  then  if  ever,  like 
Hamlet's  possible  dreams  in  the  sleep  of  death,  must  "give  us 
pause." 


66  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

Mother  and  son  undertook  a  voyage  to  Holland  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  winter  of  1781.  The  widow  Karth,  one  of  the  Hertel 
family,  born  in  1780  and  still  living  in  Bonn  in  1861,  passed  her 
childhood  in  the  house  No.  462  Wenzelgasse  in  the  upper  story 
of  which  the  Beethovens  then  lived.  One  of  her  reminiscences 
is  in  place  here.  She  distinctly  remembered  sitting,  when  a 
child,  upon  her  own  mother's  knee,  and  hearing  Madame  van 
Beethoven —  "a  quiet,  suffering  woman" — relate  that  when  she 
went  with  her  little  boy  Ludwig  to  Holland  it  was  so  cold  on  the 
boat  that  she  had  to  hold  his  feet  in  her  lap  to  prevent  them  from 
being  frostbitten;  and  also  that,  while  absent,  Ludwig  played  a 
great  deal  in  great  houses,  astonished  people  by  his  skill  and 
received  valuable  presents.  The  circumstance  of  the  cold  feet 
warmed  in  the  mother's  lap,  is  precisely  one  to  fasten  itself  in 
the  memory  of  a  child  and  form  a  point  around  which  other  facts 
might  cluster.^ 

Another  incident  related  in  connection  with  this  journey  to 
Holland — not  as  a  fact,  but  as  one  which  she  had  heard  spoken 
of  in  her  childhood — and  one  very  difficult  to  comprehend,  is, 
that  some  person,  whether  an  envious  boy  or  a  heartless  adult 
she  could  not  tell,  drew  a  knife  across  the  fingers  of  Ludwig  to 
disable  him  from  playing! 

^There  seems  to  have  been  no  knowledge  on  the  part  of  Beethoven's  biographers 
of  this  visit  to  Holland  until  Thayer  brought  the  incident  to  notice.  It  is,  therefore, 
highly  significant  that  the  Fischer  family  also  recalled  the  circumstance  and,  besides, 
knew  what  brought  it  about.  The  sister  of  young  Rovantini,  who  died  in  September, 
1781,  was  employed  as  governess  in  Rotterdam,  and  on  receiving  intelligence  of  the 
death  of  her  brother  came  to  Bonn,  together  with  her  mistress  (whose  name  has  not 
been  preserved),  to  visit  his  grave.  For  a  month  she  was  an  inmate  of  the  Beethoven 
house;  there  was  a  good  deal  of  music-making  and  some  excursions  to  neighboring  places 
of  interest,  including  Coblenz.  The  visitors  invited  the  Beethoven  family  to  make  a 
trip  to  Holland.  Inasmuch  as  Johann  van  Beethoven  could  not  get  away,  the  mother 
went  with  the  lad,  and,  a  party  of  five,  they  embarked  upon  the  voyage.  This  must  have 
been  in  October  or  November,  1781,  which  agrees  with  the  story  of  the  extreme  cold 
encountered  on  the  voyage.  They  remained  a  considerable  time,  but  whether  or  not 
Ludwig  gave  a  concert  as  he  had  intended,  is  not  known.  Despite  the  attentions 
showered  upon  him  by  the  wealthy  lady  from  Rotterdam  and  the  many  honors,  the 
pecuniary  results  were  disappointing.  To  Fischer's  question  how  he  had  fared  Beethoven 
is  reported  to  have  answered:  "The  Dutch  are  skinflints  {Pfennigfuchser);  I'll  never 
go  to  Holland  again." 


Chapter  IV 


Beethoven  a  Pupil  of  Neefe — His  Talent  and  Skill  Put  to 
Use — First  Efforts  at  Composition — Johann  van  Beet- 
hoven's Family — Domestic  Tribulations. 

CHRISTIAN  GOTTLOB  NEEFE  succeeded  the  persons  men- 
tioned as  Beethoven's  master  in  music.    When  this  tutorship 
began  and  ended,  and  whether  or  not  it  be  true  that  the  Elec- 
tor engaged  and  paid  him  for  his  services  in  this  capacity,  as  affirmed 
by  divers  writers — here  again  positive  evidence  is  wanting.     Neefe 
came  to  Bonn  in  October,  1779;  received  the  decree  of  succession 
to  the  position  of  Court  Organist  on  February  15,  1781,  and  was 
thus  permanently  engaged  in  the  Elector's  service.     The  unsatis- 
factory nature  of  the  earlier  instruction,  as  well  as  the  high  repu- 
tation of  Neefe,  placed  in  the  strongest  light  before  the  Bonn 
public  by  those  proceedings  which  had  compelled  him  to  remain 
there,  would  render  it  highly  desirable  to  Johann  van  Beethoven 
to  transfer  his  son  to  the  latter's  care.     It  would  create  no  surprise 
should  proof  hereafter  come  to  light  that  this  change  was  made 
even  before  the  issue  of  the  decree  of  February  15,  1781; — that 
even  then  the  pupil  was  profiting  by  the  lessons  of  the  zealous 
Bachist.     Whether  tliis  was  so  or  not,  it  was  more  than  ever 
necessary  that  the  boy's  talents  should  be  put  to  profitable  use, 
for  the  father  found  his  family   still  increasing.     The  baptism 
of  a  daughter  named  Anna  Maria  Franciska  after  her  sponsors 
Anna  IVIaria  Klemmers,  dicta  Kochs,  and  Franz  Rovantini,  court 
musician,  is  recorded  in  the  St.  Remigius  register  February  23, 
1779,  and  her  death  on  the  27th  of  the  same  month.     Tlie  baptism 
of  August  Franciscus  Georgius  van  Beethoven — Franz  Rovantini, 
Musicus  Aulicus  and    Helene   Averdonk,  'pairini^    follows  nearly 
two    years    later — January    17,    1781.     There   is    no    minister   of 
State  now  to  lend  his  name  to  a  child  of  Johann  van  Beethoven, 
nor  any  lady  abbess.     Rovantini,  one  of  the  youngest  members 
of  the  orchestra  (relative  and  friend  of  the  family),  and  a  Frau 
Kochs,  the  young  contralto,  whose  musical  education  the  father 

167] 


CS  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

had  superintended,  take  their  places — another  indication  that  the 
head  of  the  family  is  gradually  sinking  in  social  position. 

It  is  Schlosser  who  states  that  "the  Elector  urged  Neefe  to 
make  it  his  particular  care  to  look  after  the  training  of  the  young 
Beethoven."  How  much  weight  is  to  be  attached  to  this  asser- 
tion of  a  man  who  hastily  threw  a  few  pages  together  soon  after 
the  death  of  the  composer,  and  who  begins  by  adopting  the  old 
error  of  1772  as  the  date  of  his  birth,  and  naming  his  father 
"Anton,"  may  safely  be  left  to  the  reader.  That  the  story  may 
possibly  have  some  foundation  in  truth  is  not  denied;  but  the 
probabilities  are  all  against  it.  Just  in  these  years  Max  Friedrich 
is  busy  with  his  tric-trac,  his  balls,  his  new  operettas  and  comedies, 
and  with  his  notion  of  making  the  theatre  a  school  of  morals. 
The  truth  seems  to  be  (and  it  is  the  only  hypothesis  that  suggests 
itself,  corresponding  to  the  established  facts),  that  Johann  van 
Beethoven  had  now  determined  to  make  an  organist  of  his  son 
as  the  surest  method  of  making  his  talents  productive.  The 
appointment  of  Neefe  necessarily  destroyed  Ludwig's  hope  of 
being  van  den  Eeden's  successor;  but  Neefe's  other  numerous 
employments  would  make  an  assistant  indispensable,  and  to 
this  place  the  boy  might  well  aspire.  It  will  be  seen  in  the  course 
of  the  narrative  that  Beethoven  never  had  a  warmer,  kinder  and 
more  valuable  friend  than  Neefe  proved  throughout  the  remainder 
of  his  Bonn  life;  that,  in  fact,  his  first  appointment  was  obtained 
for  him  through  Neefe,  although  this  is  the  first  hint  yet  published 
that  the  credit  does  not  belong  to  a  very  different  personage. 
What,  then,  so  natural,  so  self-evident  as  that  Neefe,  foreseeing 
the  approaching  necessity  of  some  one  to  take  charge  of  the  little 
organ  in  the  chapel  at  times  when  his  duties  to  the  Grossmann 
company  would  prevent  him  from  officiating  in  person,  should 
gladly  undertake  the  training  of  the  remarkable  talents  of  van 
den  Eeden's  pupil  with  no  wish  for  any  other  remuneration  than 
the  occasional  services  which  the  youth  could  render  him.'^ 

Dr.  Wegeler  remarks:  "Neefe  had  little  influence  upon  the 
instruction  of  our  Ludwig,  who  frequently  complained  of  the  too 
severe  criticisms  made  on  his  first  efforts  in  composition."  The 
first  of  these  assertions  is  evidently  an  utter  mistake.  In  1793 
Beethoven  himself,  at  all  events,  thought  differently:  "I  thank 
you  for  the  counsel  which  you  gave  me  so  often  in  my  progress 
in  my  divine  art.  If  I  ever  become  a  great  man  yours  shall  be 
a  share  of  the  credit.  This  will  give  you  the  greater  joy  since 
you  may  rest  assured,"  etc.  Thus  he  wrote  to  his  old  teacher. 
As  to  the  complaint  of  harsh  criticism  it  may  be  remarked  that 


Neefe's  Influence  on  Beethoven  69 

Neefe,  reared  in  the  strict  Leipsic  school,  must  have  been  greatly 
dissatisfied  with  the  direction  which  the  young  genius  was  taking 
under  the  influences  which  surrounded  him,  and  that  he  should 
labor  to  change  its  course.  He  was  still  a  young  man,  and  in 
his  zeal  for  his  pupil's  progress  may  well  have  criticized  his  child- 
ish compositions  with  a  severity  which,  though  no  more  than 
just  and  reasonable,  may  have  so  contrasted  with  injudicious 
praise  from  other  quarters  as  to  wound  the  boy's  self-esteem  and 
leave  a  sting  behind;  especially  if  Neefe  indulged  in  a  tone  at  all 
contemptuous,  a  common  fault  of  young  men  in  like  cases.  Prob- 
ably, in  some  conversation  upon  this  point  Beethoven  may  have 
remarked  to  Wegeler  that  Neefe  had  criticized  him  in  his  child- 
hood rather  too  severely. 

But  to  return  from  the  broad  field  of  hypothesis  to  the  narrow 
path  of  facts.  "On  this  day,  June  20,  1782,"  Neefe  writes  of  him- 
self and  the  Grossmann  company,  "we  entered  upon  our  journey 
to  Miinster,  whither  the  Elector  also  went.  The  day  before  my 
predecessor.  Court  Organist  van  den  Eeden,  was  buried;  I  re- 
ceived permission,  however,  to  leave  my  duties  in  the  hands  of 
a  vicar  and  go  along  to  Westphalia  and  thence  to  the  Michaelmas 
fair  at  Frankfort."  The  Diisseldorf  documents  prove  that  this 
vicar  was  Ludwig  van  Beethoven,  now  just  eleven  and  a  half 
years  of  age.  In  the  course  of  the  succeeding  winter,  Neefe  pre- 
pared that  very  valuable  and  interesting  communication  to 
'Cramer's  Magazine"  which  has  been  so  largely  quoted.  In 
this  occurs  the  first  printed  notice  of  Beetlioven,  one  which  is 
honorable  to  head  and  heart  of  its  author.  He  writes,  under 
dateof  March  2,  1783: 

Louis  van  Beethoven,  son  of  the  tenor  singer  mentioned,  a  boy  of 
eleven  years  and  of  most  promising  talent.  He  plays  the  clavier  very 
skilfully  and  with  power,  reads  at  sight  very  well,  and — to  put  it  in  a 
nutsliell — he  plays  chiefly  "The  Well-Tempered  Clavichord"  of  Sebastian 
Bach,  which  Herr  Neefe  put  into  his  hands.  Whoever  knows  this  collec- 
tion of  preludes  and  fugues  in  all  the  keys — which  might  almost  be  called 
the  non  plus  ultra  of  our  art — will  know  what  this  means.  So  far  as  his 
duties  permitted,  Herr  Neefe  has  also  given  him  instruction  in  thorough- 
bass. He  is  now  training  him  in  composition  and  for  his  encouragement 
has  had  nine  variations  for  the  pianoforte,  written  by  him  on  a  march — 
by  Ernst  C^hrist()i)h  Drossier — engraved  at  Mannheim.  This  youthful 
genius  is  deserving  of  help  to  enable  him  to  travel.  lie  would  surely 
become  a  second  Wolfgang  Amadeus  Mozart  were  he  to  continue  as  he 
has  begun. 

This  allusion  to  Mozart,  who  had  not  then  produced  those 
immortal  works  upon  which  his  fame  now  principally  rests,  speaks 


70  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

well  for  the  insight  of  Neefe  and  renders  his  high  appreciation  of 
liis  pupil's  genius  the  more  striking.  Had  this  man  then  really 
so  little  influence  upon  its  development  as  Wegeler  supposed? 
That  C.  P.  E.  Bach's  works  were  included  in  Neefe's  course 
of  instruction  is  rendered  nearly  certain  by  the  following  facts: 
he  was  himself  a  devout  student  of  them;  the  only  reference  to 
his  father  made  by  Beethoven  in  all  the  manuscripts  examined 
for  this  work,  an  official  document  or  two  excepted,  is  upon  an 
unfinished  copy  of  one  of  Bach's  cantatas  in  these  words :  "Written 
by  my  dear  father;"^  and  one  of  the  works  most  used  by  him  in 
compiling  his  "Materialien  fiir  Contrapunkt"  in  1809  was  Bach's 
"Versuch  iiber  die  wahre  Art  das  Clavier  zu  Spielen."  The  un- 
lucky remark  of  Wegeler,  founded,  too,  possibly  upon  some  ex- 
pression of  Beethoven's  in  a  moment  of  spleen,  but  certainly  not 
in  justice,  has  cast  a  shadow  upon  the  relation  between  Neefe 
and  his  pupil.  Writer  after  writer  has  copied  without  examining 
it.  Does  it  bear  examination?  Possibly,  if  it  be  supposed  to 
relate  only  to  execution  upon  the  pianoforte  and  organ;  but  in 
no  other  case.  It  is  self-evident  that  serious  study  in  the  severe 
school  of  the  Bachs  was  necessary  to  counteract  the  influence  of 
the  light  and  trivial  music  of  the  Bonn  stage  upon  the  young 
genius;  and  to  Neefe  the  credit  of  seeing  this  and  acting  accord- 
ingly must  be  given.  The  reader's  attention  is  called  particu- 
larly to  the  words  "He  is  now  training  him  in  composition,  and 
for  his  encouragement  has  had  nine  variations  for  the  pianoforte 
written  by  him  on  a  march  by  Dressier  engraved  at  Mannheim," 
in  Neefe's  notice  of  Beethoven  above  cited,  and  the  date  of  the 
article  from  which  it  is  taken — March  2,  1783.  Is  it  not  per- 
fectly clear  that  these  variations  have  been  recently  composed, 
and  very  recently  printed?  Yet  upon  the  title  stands,  "Par  un 
jeune  amateur,  Louis  van  Beethoven,  age  de  dix  ans."  If  this 
were  a  solitary  case  of  apparent  discrepancy  between  the  boy's 
age  and  the  year  given  it  would  attract  and  deserve  no  notice; 
but  it  is  one  of  many  and  adds  its  weight  to  the  evidence  of  that 
falsification  already  spoken  of.- 

i"Morgengesang  am  Schopfungstage." 

^\s  given  by  Nottebohm  in  his  catalogue  (p.  154)  the  title  of  the  original  publica- 
tion of  the  Variations  by  Goetz  of  Mannheim  ran  as  follows:  Variations  pour  le  Clavecin 
sur  urie  Marchede  Mr.  Dressier,  com-posees  et  Dedices  a  son  Excellence  Madame  la  Comtesse 
de  Wolfmetternich,  nee  Baronne  d'  Assebourg,  par  un  jeune  amateur  Louis  van  Beethoven, 
age  de  dix  ans.  1780."  Inasmuch  as  Nottebohm's  Notes  on  Thayer's  "Chronologisches 
Verzeichniss"  do  not  give  the  date  1780,  it  was  probably  appended  by  mistake.  In  the 
delle  Sinfonie,  etc.,  che  si  irovanno  in  manoscritto  nella  officina  de  Breitkopf  in  Lipsia,  under 
the  compositions  of  1782,  1783  and  1784:  Variations  da  Louis  van  Beethoven,  age  de  dix 
ans,  Mannheim,  with  the  theme  in  notation.     The  Countess  Wolff-Metternich,  to  whom 


Beethoven  as  Neefe's  Assistant  71 

A  second  work  belonging  to  this  period  is  a  two-part  fugue  in 
D  for  the  organ. ^ 

To  return  to  the  young  organist,  who,  since  the  publication 
of  Wegeler's  "Notizen,"  has  always  been  supposed  to  have  been 
placed  at  that  instrument  by  the  Elector  Max  Franz  in  the  year 
1785,  as  a  method  of  giving  him  pecuniary  aid  without  touching 
his  feelings  of  pride  and  independence.  The  place  of  assistant 
to  Neefe  was  no  sinecure;  although  not  involving  much  labor, 
it  brought  with  it  much  confinement.  The  old  organ  had  been 
destroyed  by  the  fire  of  1777,  and  a  small  chamber  instrument  still 
supplied  its  place.  It  was  the  constantly  recurring  necessity  of  being 
present  at  the  religious  services  which  made  the  position  onerous. 

On  all  Sundays  and  regular  festivals  (says  the  Court  Calendar) 
high  mass  at  11  a.m.  and  vespers  at  3  (sometimes  4)  p.  m.  The  vespers 
will  be  sung  throughout  in  Capellis  solemnibus  by  the  musicians  of  the 
electoral  court,  the  middle  vespers  will  be  sung  by  the  court  clergy  and 
musicians  chorally  as  far  as  the  Magnificat,  which  will  be  performed  music- 
ally. On  all  Wednesdays  in  Lent  the  Miserere  will  be  sung  by  the  chapel 
at  5  p.m.  and  on  all  Fridays  the  Stabat  mater.  Every  Saturday  at 
3  p.m.  the  Litanies  at  the  altar  of  Our  Lady  of  Loretto.  Every  day 
throughout  the  year  two  masses  will  be  read,  the  one  at  9,  the  other  at 
11 — on  Sundays  the  latter  at  10. 

Such  a  programme  gave  the  organist  something  at  least  to  do, 
and  when  Neefe  left  Bonn  for  Munster,  June  20,  1782,  he  left  his 
pupil  no  easy  task.  Before  the  close  of  the  theatrical  season  of 
the  next  winter  (1782-'83)  the  master  was  obliged  to  call  upon  the 
boy  for  still  farther  assistance.  "In  the  winter  of  1784,"  writes 
the  widow  Neefe,  "my  husband  of  blessed  memory  was  tempo- 
rarily entrusted  with  the  direction  of  the  church  music  as  well  as 
other  music  at  court  while  the  Electoral  Chapel  master  L.  was 
absent  on  a  journey  of  several  months."  The  date  is  wrong,  for 
Lucchesi's  petition  for  leave  of  absence  was  granted  April  20,  1783. 
Thus  overwhelmed  with  business,  Neefe  could  no  longer  conduct 
at  the  pianoforte  the  rehearsals  for  the  stage,  and  Ludwig  van 

the  variations  are  dedicatorl,  was  the  wife  of  Count  I^naz  von  Wolff-Mcllcrnirh,  "Kon- 
fcTcnzincistfr"  anfl  president  of  the  U'lf^U  Court  of  -Vppeals,  who  died  in  Honn,  March 
15,  17!)0.  Ernst  f  liristoph  Dressier,  composer  of  the  theme  varied  by  Beethoven,  was 
an  opera  singer  in  Cassel. 

»The  Bapatelles  for  Pianoforte,  Op.  33.  included  by  Thayer  in  his  MSS.  and  his 
"ChronrfloKisfhes  Vcrzciflmiss"  as  also  hcloiij^'iiit,'  fo  this  period  on  the  .slren>,'th  of  their 
superscription  on  a  manuscrifjt  eojjv,  "Mollis  van  Meet  liovcn  .  .  .  17S!2,"  were,  as  NOlte- 
bohm  has  shown,  not  composed  at  this  time.  One  of  tiiem  was  composed  in  IHOii  and 
another  sketched  between  \T.)i)  and  1801.  See  Nollci)ohm  ("Zweilc  Ik-clhovciiiana," 
p.  2.50).  Nottcbohm  conjectures  that  the  or^an  fu^'ue  was  composed  at  his  trial  for 
the  post  of  second  court  organist.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  his  age  was  falsified  by  his 
father  at  this  time,  it  is  likely  that  the  work  was  composed  in  1783. 


72  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

Beethoven,  now  12  years  old,  became  also  "cembalist  in  the 
orchestra."  In  those  days  every  orchestra  was  provided  with  a 
harpsichord  or  pianoforte,  seated  at  which  the  director  guided 
the  performance,  playing  from  the  score.  Here,  then,  was  in 
part  the  origin  of  that  marvellous  power,  with  which  in  later 
years  Beethoven  astonished  his  contemporaries,  of  reading  and 
playing  the  most  difficult  and  involved  scores  at  first  sight.  The 
position  of  cembalist  was  one  of  equal  honor  and  responsibility. 
Handel  and  Matthison's  duel  grew  out  of  the  fact  that  the  former 
would  not  leave  the  harpsichord  on  a  certain  occasion  before  the 
close  of  the  performance.  Gassmann  placed  the  young  Salieri 
at  the  harpsichord  of  the  Imperial  Opera  House  as  the  best  pos- 
sible means  of  training  him  to  become  the  great  conductor  that 
he  was.  This  was  the  high  place  of  honor  given  to  Haydn  when 
in  London.  In  Ludwig  van  Beethoven's  case  it  was  the  place  in 
which  he,  as  Mosel  says  of  Salieri,  "could  make  practical  use  of 
what  he  learned  from  books  and  scores  at  home."  Moreover, 
it  was  a  place  in  which  he  could,  even  in  boyhood,  hear  to  satiety 
the  popular  Italian,  French  and  German  operas  of  the  day  and 
learn  to  feel  that  something  higher  and  nobler  was  necessary  to 
touch  the  deeper  feelings  of  the  heart;  a  place  which,  had  the 
Elector  lived  ten  years  longer,  might  have  given  the  world  another 
not  merely  great  but  prolific,  nay  inexhaustible,  operatic  composer. 
The  cembalist's  duties  doubtless  came  to  an  end  with  the  depar- 
ture of  the  Elector  for  Miinster  in  May  or  June,  and  he  then  had 
time  for  other  pursuits,  of  which  composition  was  one.  A  song, 
"Schilderung  eines  Madchens,"  by  him  was  printed  this  year  in 
Bossier's  "Blumenlese  fiir  Liebhaber,"  and  a  Rondo  in  C  for 
pianoforte,  anonymous,  which  immediately  follows,  was  also  of 
his  composition.  A  more  important  work,  which  before  the  close 
of  the  year  was  published  by  Bossier  with  a  magniloquent  dedi- 
cation to  Max  Friedrich,  was  the  three  sonatas  for  pianoforte, 
according  to  the  title,  if  true,  "composed  by  Ludwig  van  Beet- 
hoven, aged  11  years."  ^  The  reader  can  judge  whether  or  not 
the  11  should  be  12. 

To  turn  for  a  moment  to  the  Beethoven  family  matters. 
This  summer  (1783)  had  brought  them  some  sorrow  again.  The 
child   Franz    Georg,  now  just   two  and   a   half  years   old,   died 

^Title  of  the  original  publication:  "Drei  Sonaten  fiir  Klavier,  dem  Hoch:viirdigsten 
Erzbischofe  und  Kurflirsten  zu  Koln,  Maximilian  Friedrich  meinem  gnadigsten  Herrn 
gewidmet  und  verfertigt  von  Ludwig  van  Beethoven,  alt  eilf  Jahr."  Beethoven  wrote 
on  a  copy  of  the  sonatas:  "These  Sonatas  and  the  Variations  of  Dressier  are  my  first 
works."  He  probably  meant  his  first  published  works.  See  Thayer's  "Chronologisches 
Verzeichniss,"  p.  2,  183. 


Appointed  Assistant  Court  Organist  73 

August  16th.  This  was  another  stroke  of  bad  fortune  which  not 
only  wounded  the  heart  but  added  to  the  pecuniary  difficulties 
of  the  father,  who  was  now  losing  his  voice  and  whose  character 
is  described  in  an  oflBcial  report  made  the  next  summer  by  the 
words  **of  tolerable  conduct."  If  the  duties  of  Neefe  during 
the  last  season  had  been  laborious,  in  the  coming  one,  1783-'84, 
they  were  still  more  arduous.  It  was  the  first  under  the  new 
contract  by  which  the  Elector  assumed  all  the  costs  of  the  theatre, 
and  a  woman,  Mme.  Grossmann,  had  the  direction.  It  was  all- 
important  to  singers,  actors  and  whoever  was  concerned  that  the 
result  of  the  experiment  should  be  satisfactory  to  their  employer; 
and  as  the  opera  was  more  to  his  taste  than  the  spoken  drama,  so 
much  the  more  difficult  was  Neefe's  task.  Besides  his  acting 
as  chapelmaster  in  the  place  of  Lucchesi,  still  absent,  there  was 
"every  forenoon  rehearsal  of  opera,"  as  Mme.  Grossmann  wrote 
to  Councillor  T.,  at  which,  of  course,  Neefe  had  to  be  present. 
There  was  ever  new  music  to  be  examined,  arranged,  copied, 
composed — what  not? — all  which  he  must  attend  to;  in  short,  he 
had  everything  to  do  which  could  be  imposed  upon  a  theatrical 
music  director  witli  a  salary  of  1,000  florins.  It  therefore  became 
a  busy  time  for  his  young  assistant,  who  still  had  no  recognition 
as  member  of  the  court  chapel,  not  even  as  "accessist" — the  last 
"accessist"  organist  was  Meuris  (1778) — and  consequently  no 
salary  from  the  court.  But  he  had  now  more  than  completed 
the  usual  year  of  probation  to  which  candidates  were  subjected, 
and  his  talents  and  skill  were  well  enough  known  to  warrant  his 
petition  for  an  appointment.  The  petition  has  not  been  dis- 
covered; but  the  report  made  upon  it  to  the  privy  council  has 
been  preserved,  together  with  the  following  endorsement:  "High 
Lord  Steward  Count  von  Salm,  referring  to  the  petition  of  Ludwig 
van  Beethoven  for  the  position  of  Assistant  Court  Organist,  is 
of  the  humble  opinion  that  the  grace  ought  to  be  bestowed  upon 
him,  together  with  a  small  compensation."  This  endorsement  is 
dated  "Bonn,  February  29,  1784."  The  report  upon  the  petition 
is  as  follows: 

Most  Reverend  Archbishop  and  Elector, 
Most  Gracious  Lord,  Lord. 

Your  Electoral  Grace  has  graciously  been  pleased  to  demand  a 
dutiful  report  from  me  on  the  petition  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven  to  Your 
Grace  under  date  the  15th  inst. 

Obediently  and  without  delay  (I  report)  that  suppliant's  father 
was  for  29  years,  his  grandfather  for  40.  in  the  service  of  Your  Most 
Reverend  Electoral  Grace  and  Your  Electoral  Grace's  predc^cessors;  that 
the  suppliant  has  been  amply  proved  aud  fouud  capable  to  play  the  court 


74  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

organ  as  he  has  done  in  the  absence  of  Organist  Neefe,  also  at  rehearsals 
of  the  plays  and  elsewhere  and  will  continue  to  do  so  in  the  future;  that 
Your  Grace  has  graciously  provided  for  his  care  and  subsistence  (his 
father  no  longer  being  able  to  do  so).  It  is  therefore  my  humble  judg- 
ment that  for  these  reasons  the  suppliant  well  deserves  to  have  graciously 
bestowed  upon  him  the  position  of  assistant  at  the  court  organ  and  an 
increase  of  remuneration.  Commending  myself  to  the  good  will  of  Your 
Most  Reverend  Electoral  Grace  I  am  Your  Most  Reverend  Grace's 

most  humble  and  obedient  servant 
Bonn,  February  23,  1784.  Sigismund  Altergraff  zu 

Salm  und  ReiflFerscheid. 

The  action  taken  is  thus  indicated: 

Ad  Sup. 

Ludwig  van  Beethoven. 

On  the  obedient  report  the  suppliant's  submissive  prayer, 
granted.  (Beruhet.) 

.   Bonn,   February   29,    1784. 

Again,  on  the  cover: 

Ad  sup. 

Lud.  van  Beethoven, 
Granted.  (Beruhet.)  Sig.  Bonn,  February  29,  1784. 

The  necessity  of  the  case,  the  warm  recommendation  of 
Salm-ReiflFerscheid,  very  probably,  too,  the  Elector's  own  knowl- 
edge of  the  fitness  of  the  candidate,  and  perhaps  the  flattery  in 
the  dedication  of  the  sonatas — for  these  were  the  days  when  dedi- 
cations but  half  disguised  petitions  for  favor — were  sufficient 
inducements  to  His  Transparency  at  length  to  confirm  the  young 
organist  in  the  position  which  Neefe's  kindness  had  now  for  nearly 
two  years  given  him.  Opinions  differ  as  to  the  precise  meaning 
of  the  word  Beruhet  (translated  "granted"  in  the  above  tran- 
scripts); but  this  much  is  certain:  Beethoven  was  not  appointed 
assistant  organist  in  1785  by  Max  Franz  at  the  instance  of  Count 
Waldstein,  but  at  the  age  of  13  in  the  spring  of  1784  by  Max 
Friedrich,  and  upon  his  own  petition  supported  by  the  influence 
of  Neefe  and  of  Salm-Reifferscheid. 

The  appointment  was  made,  but  the  salary  had  not  been 
determined  on  when  an  event  occurred  which  wrought  an  entire 
change  in  the  position  of  theatrical  affairs  at  Bonn: — the  Elector 
died  on  April  15,  and  the  theatrical  company  was  dismissed 
with  four  weeks'  wages.  There  was  no  longer  a  necessity  for 
a  second  organist;  and  fortunate  it  was  for  the  assistant  that 
his  name  came  before  Max  Friedrioh's  successor  (in  the  reports 
soon  to  be  copied)  as  being  a  regular  member  of  the  court  chapel, 
although  "without  salary."     Lucchesi  returned  to  Bonn;  Neefe 


Early  Efforts  at  Composition  75 

had  nothing  to  do  but  play  his  organ,  cultivate  his  garden  outside 
the  town  and  give  music  lessons.  It  was  long  before  such  a  con- 
junction of  circumstances  occurred  as  would  have  led  the  econom- 
ical Max  Franz  to  appoint  an  organist  adjunct.  Happy  was  it, 
therefore,  that  one  of  the  deceased  Elector's  last  acts  secured 
young  Beethoven   the  place. 

The  excellent  Frau  Karth,  born  in  1780,  could  not  recall  to 
memory  any  period  of  her  childhood  down  to  the  death  of  Johann 
van  Beethoven,  when  he  and  his  family  did  not  live  in  the  lodging 
above  that  of  her  parents.  This  fact,  together  with  the  circum- 
stance that  no  mention  is  made  of  the  Beethovens  in  the  account 
of  the  great  inundation  of  the  Rhine  in  February,  1782,  when  all 
the  families  dwelling  in  the  Fischer  house  of  the  Rheingasse  were 
rescued  in  boats  from  the  windows  of  the  first  story,  added  to  the 
strong  probability  that  Beethoven's  position  was  but  the  first 
formal  step  of  the  regular  process  of  confirming  an  appointment 
already  determined  upon; — these  points  strongly  suggest  the  idea 
that  to  Ludwig's  advancement  his  father  owed  the  ability  to 
dwell  once  more  in  a  better  part  of  the  town,  i.e.,  in  the  pleasant 
house  No.  462  Wenzelgasse.  The  house  is  very  near  the  Minorite 
church,  which  contained  a  good  organ,  concerning  the  pedal 
measurements  of  which,  as  we  have  seen,  Beethoven  made  a  mem- 
orandum in  a  note-book  which  he  carried  with  him  to  Vienna.^ 
In  the  "Xeuen  Blumenlese  fiir  Klavierliebhaber"  of  this  year, 
Part  I,  pp.  18  and  19,  appeared  a  Rondo  for  Pianoforte,  in  A 
major,  "dal  Sig'"  van  Beethoven"^;  and  Part  II,  p.  44,  the  Arioso 
"An  einen  Siiugling,  von  Hrn.  Beethoven."^  "Un  Concert  pour 
le  Clavecin  ou  Fortepiano  compose  par  Louis  van  Beethoven  age 
de  douze  ans,"  32  pp.  manuscrii)t  written  in  a  boy's  hand,  may 
also  belong  to  this  year^;  and,  judging  by  the  handwriting,  to  the 

'The  editor  has  here  thought  it  advisable  to  permit  Thayer's  ori{,'inaI  text  to  stand 
in  the  body  of  the  book,  although  Dr.  Deiter-s  made  a  radical  correction  in  his  revision 
of  the  first  volume  of  the  biography.  On  the  basis  of  the  Fischer  manuscript  Dr.  Dciters 
relates  that  the  Heclliovcn  family  lived  in  the  house  in  the  Rheingasse  at  the  time  of  the 
inundation;  that  Beethoven's  mother  sought  to  stay  the  alarm  of  the  inmates  with 
encouraging  words,  but  at  the  last  had  to  make  her  escape  with  the  others  into  the  (lier- 
gasse  over  boards  and  <lown  ladders.  .Admitting  that  there  are  many  inaccuracies  in 
the  recital.  Dr.  Dciters  nevertheless  accejits  it  in  tiiis  |)articular  and  conjectures  that 
Beethoven  lived  in  the  house  in  the  Rheingasse  until  178.5. 

*B.  and  H.  Ges.  Ausg.  Serie  18,  No.  196. 

'B.  and  H.  Ges.  Ausg.  Serie  23,  No.  229. 

*The  manuscript  contains  the  solo  part  complete  with  the  orchestral  preludes  and 
interludes  in  transcrii)tion  for  pianoforte.  There  arc  indications  that  it  was  scored  for 
small  orchestra — strings,  flutes  atul  horns  only.  The  composition  was  long  unknown. 
Thayer  inclufled  it  in  his  "C'hronologiHches  Verzcichniss"  under  Xo.  7,  giving  the  t  hemes. 
Guido  Adler  edited  it  at  a  much  later  date,  and  it  has  been  published  in  the  supplement 
to  the  collected  works  of  Beethoven. 


76  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

period  may  also  be  assigned  a  movement  in  three  parts  of  four 
pages,  formerly  in  the  Artaria  collection,  without  title,  date  or 
remark  of  any  kind.^ 

The  widow  Karth  perfectly  remembered  Johann  van  Beet- 
hoven as  a  tall,  handsome  man  with  powdered  head.  Ries  and 
Simrock  described  Ludwig  to  Dr.  Miiller  "as  a  boy  powerfully, 
almost  clumsily  built."^  How  easily  fancy  pictures  them — the 
tall  man  walking  to  chapel  or  rehearsal  with  the  little  boy  trotting 
by  his  side,  through  the  streets  of  Bonn,  and  the  gratified  expres- 
sion of  the  father  as  the  child  takes  the  place  and  performs  the 
duties  of  a  man! 

'Nottebohm  conjectured  that  the  movement  referred  to  by  Thayer  was  that  for 
a  musical  clock.  No.  29,  in  Thayer's  chronological  catalogue,  there  described  as  a  duo. 
Dr.  Deiters  thinks  that  it  was  a  fragment  of  a  composition  for  pianoforte  and  violin. 
No.  131  in  the  catalogue  of  the  Artaria  collection.  It  contains  suggestions  of  Beet- 
hoven's style,  but  the  manuscript  is  a  copy,  not  an  autograph,  and  its  authenticity  is 
not  proven. 

-In  the  Fischer  MS.:  "Short  of  stature,  broad  shoulders,  short  neck,  large  head, 
round  nose,  dark  brown  complexion;  he  always  bent  forward  slightly  when  he  walked. 
In  the  house  he  was  called  der  Spagnol  (the  Spaniard)." 


Chapter  V 


Maria  Theresia — Appearance  and  Character  of  Elector 
Max  Franz — Musical  Culture  in  the  Austrian  Im- 
perial Family — A  Royal  Violinist — His  Admiration  for 
Mozart — His  Court  Music. 


Maria  Theresia  was  a  tender  mother,  much  concerned  to  see  all  her 
children  well  provided  for  in  her  lifetime  and  as  independent  as  possible 
of  her  eldest  son,  the  heir  to  the  throne.  This  wish  had  already  been 
fulfilled  in  the  case  of  several  of  them.  .  .  .  The  youngest  son,  Maximil- 
ian (born  in  Vienna,  December  8,  1756),  was  already  chosen  coadjutor 
to  his  paternal  uncle,  Duke  Karl  of  Lorraine,  Grand  Master  of  the  Teu- 
tonic Order.  But  to  provide  a  more  bountiful  and  significant  support. 
Prince  Kaunitz  formulated  a  plan  which  pleased  the  maternal  heart  of 
the  monarch,  and  whose  execution  was  calculated  to  extend  the  influence 
of  the  Court  of  Vienna  in  the  German  Empire.  It  was  to  bestow  more 
ecclesiastical  principalities  upon  the  Archduke  Maximihan.  His  eyes 
fell  first  upon  the  Archbishopric  and  Electorate  of  Cologne  and  the  Arch- 
bishopric and  Principality  of  MUnster.  These  two  countries  had  one 
and  the  same  Regent,  Maximilian  Friedrich,  descended  from  the  Suabian 
family  of  Konigseck-Rothenfels,  Counts  of  the  Empire.  In  view  of  the 
advanced  age  of  this  ruler  his  death  did  not  seem  far  distant;  but  it  was 
thought  best  not  to  wait  for  that  contingency,  but  to  secure  the  riglit  of 
succession  at  once  by  having  the  Archduke  elected  Coadjutor  in  Cologne 
and  Munster.  Their  possession  was  looked  upon  as  a  provision  worthy 
of  the  son  of  an  Empress-Queen.  As  Elector  and  Lord  of  the  Rhenish 
shore,  simultaneously  co-director  of  the  Westphalian  Circuit  (a  dignity 
associated  with  the  archbishopric  of  Munster),  he  could  be  useful  to  his 
house,  and  oppose  the  Prussian  influence  in  the  very  part  of  Germany 
where  it  was  largest. 

THUS  Dohm  begins  the  seventli  chapter  of  his  "Denkwiirdig- 
keiten"  where,  in  a  calm  and  passionless  style,  he  relates  the 
history  of  the  intrigues  and  negotiations  which  ended  in  the 
election  of  Maria  Thcresia's  youngest  son  on  August  7,  1780,  as 
coadjutor  to  the  Elector  of  Cologne  and,  on  the  lOUi  of  tlie  same 
month,  to  that  of  MUnster,  and  secured  him  tlie  peaceful  and  imme- 
diate succession  when  Max  Fricdrich's  functions  should  cease. 
The  news  of  the  election  at  Cologne  reached  Bonn  on  the  same 
day  about  1  o'clock  p.  m.     The  Elector  proceeded  at  once  to  the 

177] 


78  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

Church  of  the  Franciscans  (used  as  the  chapel  since  the  confla- 
gration of  1777),  where  a  "musical  'Te  Deum'  "  was  sung,  while  all 
the  city  bells  were  ringing.  Von  Kleist's  regiment  fired  a  triple 
salvo,  which  the  cannon  on  the  city  walls  answered.  At  noon  a 
public  dinner  was  spread  in  the  palace,  one  table  setting  54,  another 
24  covers.  In  the  evening  at  8  1-2  o'clock,  followed  the  finest 
illumination  ever  seen  in  Bonn,  which  the  Elector  enjoyed  riding 
about  in  his  carriage.  After  this  came  a  grand  supper  of  82  covers, 
then  a  masked  ball  *'to  which  every  decently  clad  subject  as  well 
as  any  stranger  was  admitted,  and  which  did  not  come  to  an  end 
till  nearly  7  o'clock." 

Max  Franz  was  in  his  twenty-eighth  year  when  he  came  to 
Bonn.  He  was  of  middle  stature,  strongly  built  and  already 
inclining  to  that  corpulence  which  in  his  last  years  made  him  a 
prodigy  of  obesity.  If  all  the  absurdities  of  his  eulogists  be  taken 
for  truth,  the  last  Elector  of  Cologne  was  endowed  with  every 
grace  of  mind  and  character  that  ever  adorned  human  nature. 
In  fact,  however,  he  was  a  good-looking,  kindly,  indolent,  some- 
what choleric  man;  fond  of  a  joke;  affable;  a  hater  of  stiff  cere- 
mony; easy  of  access;  an  honest,  amiable,  conscientious  ruler, 
who  had  the  wisdom  and  will  to  supply  his  own  deficiencies  with 
enlightened  and  skilful  ministers,  and  the  good  sense  to  rule, 
through  their  political  foresight  and  sagacity,  with  an  eye  as 
much  to  the  interests  of  his  subjects  as  his  own. 

In  his  boyhood  he  was  rather  stupid.  Swinburne  dismisses 
him  in  two  lines:  "Maximilian  is  a  good-natured,  neither  here-nor- 
there  kind  of  youth."  The  brilliant,  witty,  shrewdly  observant 
Mozart  wrote  to  his  father  (Nov.  17,  1781) :  "To  whom  God  gives 
an  office  he  also  gives  an  understanding.  This  is  really  the  case 
with  the  Archduke.  Before  he  became  a  priest  he  was  much 
wittier  and  more  intellectual  and  talked  less,  but  more  sensibly. 
You  ought  to  see  him  now!  Stupidity  looks  out  of  his  eyes;  he 
talks  eternally,  always  in  falsetto;  he  has  a  swollen  neck — in  a 
word,  the  man  is  completely  transformed."  His  mother  had 
supplied  him  with  the  best  instructors  that  Vienna  afforded,  and 
had  sent  him  travelling  pretty  extensively  for  an  archduke  in 
those  days.  One  of  his  journeys  was  to  visit  his  sister  Marie 
Antoinette  in  Paris,  where  his  awkwardness  and  breaches  of  eti- 
quette caused  as  much  amusement  to  the  anti-Austrian  party  as 
they  did  annoyance  to  the  Queen,  and  afterwards  to  his  brother 
Joseph,  when  they  came  to  his  ears. 

In  1778  he  was  with  Joseph  in  the  campaign  in  Bavaria.  An 
injury  to  his  knee,  caused  by  a  fall  of  his  horse,  is  the  reason  alleged 


Max  Franz,  the  New  Elector  79 

for  his  abandonment  of  a  military  career;  upon  which  he  was 
prevailed  upon,  so  the  "Historisches  Taschenbuch"  (II,  Vienna, 
1806)  expresses  it,  to  become  a  candidate  for  the  Coadjutorship 
of  Cologne.  If  he  had  to  be  "prevailed  upon"  to  enter  the  church, 
the  more  to  his  credit  was  the  course  he  pursued  when  once  his 
calling  and  election  were  sure. 

The  rigid  economy  which  he  introduced  at  court  immediately 
after  his  accession  in  1784  gave  rise  to  the  impression  that  he  was 
penurious.  It  may  be  said  in  his  defence  that  the  condition  of 
the  finances  required  retrenchment  and  reform;  that  he  was 
simple  in  his  tastes  and  cared  nothing  for  show  and  magnificence, 
except  upon  occasions  when,  in  his  opinion,  the  electoral  dignity 
required  them.  Then,  like  his  predecessors,  he  was  lavish.  His 
personal  expenses  were  not  great,  and  he  waited  until  his  revenues 
justified  it  before  he  indulged  to  any  great  extent  his  passion 
for  the  theatre,  music  and  dancing  (stout  as  he  was,  he  was  a 
passionate  dancer),  and  his  table.  He  was,  through  the  nature 
of  his  physical  constitution,  an  enormous  eater,  though  his  drink 
was  only  water. 

The  influence  of  a  ruler  upon  the  tone  and  character  of  society 
in  a  small  capital  is  very  great.  A  change  for  the  better  had  begun 
during  the  time  of  Max  Friedrich,  but  under  his  successor  a  new 
life  entered  Bonn.  New  objects  of  ambition  were  offered  to  the 
young  men.  The  church  and  cloister  ceased  to  be  all  in  all.  One 
can  well  understand  how  Wegeler  in  his  old  age,  as  he  looked  back 
half  a  century  to  the  years  when  he  was  student  and  professor — 
and  such  a  half-century,  with  its  revolutionary  and  Napoleonic 
wars,  its  political,  religious  and  social  changes! — should  write 
("Notizen,"  p.  59) :  "In  fact,  it  was  a  beautiful  and  in  many  ways 
active  period  in  Bonn,  so  long  as  the  genial  Elector,  Max  Franz, 
Maria  Theresia's  youngest  son  and  favorite,  reigned  there." 
How  strongly  the  improved  tone  of  society  impressed  itself  upon 
the  characters  of  the  young  is  discernible  in  the  many  of  Ihein 
who,  in  after  years,  were  known  as  men  of  large  and  liberal  ideas 
and  became  distinguished  as  jurists,  theologians  and  artists,  or 
in  science  and  letters.  These  were  the  years  of  Beethoven's  youth 
and  early  manhood;  and  though  his  great  mental  powers  were  in 
the  main  exercised  upon  his  art,  there  is  still  to  l)e  o))servcd 
through  all  liis  life  a  certain  breadth  and  grandeur  in  his  intellec- 
tual character,  owing  in  part,  no  doubt,  to  the  social  influences 
under  which  it  was  developed. 

It  is  highly  honorable  to  the  young  Max  Franz  that  lie  re- 
fused to  avail  Iiimself  of  a  privilege  granted  him  in  a  Papal  bull 


80  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

obtained  for  him  by  his  mother — that  of  deferring  the  assump- 
tion of  priestly  vows  for  a  period  of  ten  years — but  chose  rather, 
as  soon  as  he  had  leisure  for  the  step,  to  enter  the  seminary  in 
Cologne  to  fit  himself  for  consecration.  He  entered  November 
29,  rigidly  submitted  himself  to  all  the  discipline  of  the  institution 
for  the  period  of  eight  days,  when,  on  December  8,  the  nuntius, 
Bellisoni,  ordained  him  sub-deacon;  after  another  eight  days,  on 
the  16th,  deacon;  and  on  the  21st,  priest;  thus  showing  that  if 
there  be  no  royal  road  to  mathematics,  there  is  a  railway  with  ex- 
press train  for  royal  personages  in  pursuit  of  ecclesiastical  science. 
Returning  to  Bonn,  he  read  his  first  mass  on  Christmas  eve  in 
the  Florian  Chapel. 

The  cause  of  science  and  education  the  Elector  had  really 
at  heart.  In  1785  he  had  established  a  botanic  garden;  now  he 
opened  a  public  reading  room  in  the  palace  library  and  sent  a 
message  to  the  theological  school  in  Cologne,  that  if  the  improved 
course  of  instruction  adopted  in  Austria  was  not  introduced, 
he  should  found  other  seminaries.  On  the  26th  of  June  he  was 
present  at  the  opening  of  a  normal  school;  and  on  August  9th 
came  the  decree  raising  the  Bonn  Hochschule  to  the  rank  of  a 
university  by  authority  of  an  Imperial  diploma. 

Upon  the  suppression  of  the  Jesuits  in  1774,  Max  Friedrich 
devoted  their  possessions  and  revenues  to  the  cause  of  education. 
New  professorships  were  established  in  the  gymnasium  and  in 
1777  an  "Academy"  was  formed.  This  was  the  first  step;  the 
second  was  to  found  an  independent  institution  called  the  Lyceum ; 
and  at  his  death  an  application  was  before  the  Emperor  for  a 
university  charter.  Max  Franz  pushed  the  matter,  obtained  the 
charter  from  his  brother,  and  Monday,  the  20th  of  November, 
1786,  was  the  day  appointed  for  the  solemn  inauguration  of  the 
new  institution.  The  Court  Calendar  for  the  next  year  names 
six  professors  of  theology,  six  of  jurisprudence,  civil  and  ecclesias- 
tical, four  of  medicine,  and  ten  of  philology  and  other  branches  of 
learning.  In  later  editions  new  names  are  added;  in  that  of 
1790,  Wegeler  is  professor  of  midwifery. 

Though  economical.  Max  Franz  drew  many  a  man  of  supe- 
rior abilities — men  of  letters  and  artists — to  Bonn;  and  but  for 
the  bursting  of  the  storm  which  was  even  then  gathering  over  the 
French  border,  his  little  capital  might  well  have  had  a  place  in 
German  literary  history  not  inferior  to  that  of  Weimar.  Nor  are 
instances  wanting  in  which  he  gave  generous  aid  to  young  talent 
struggling  with  poverty;  though  that  he  did  so  much  for  Beethoven 
as  is  usually  thought  is,  at  least,  doubtful. 


A  Gifted  Imperial  Family  81 

This  man,  not  a  genius,  not  overwhelmingly  great  mentally, 
nor,  on  the  other  hand,  so  stupid  as  the  stories  told  of  his  boy- 
hood seem  to  indicate,  but  honest,  well-meaning,  ready  to  adopt 
and  enforce  wise  measures  devised  by  skilful  ministers;  easy, 
jocose  and  careless  of  appearances,  very  fond  of  music  and  a 
patron  of  letters  and  science, — this  man,  to  whom  in  that  period 
of  vast  intellectual  fermentation  the  Index  Expurgatorius  was 
a  dead  letter,  gave  the  tone  to  Bonn  society. 

That  solid  musical  education  which  she  had  received  from 
her  father,  Maria  Theresia  bestowed  upon  her  children,  and  their 
attainments  in  the  art  seem  to  have  justified  the  time  and  labor 
spent.  In  1749,  at  the  age  of  seven  and  six,  Christina  and  Maria 
Elizabeth  took  part  in  one  of  the  festive  musical  pieces;  Marie 
Antoinette  was  able  to  appreciate  Gluck  and  lead  the  party  in 
his  favor  in  later  years  at  Paris.  Joseph  is  as  much  known  in 
musical  as  in  civil  and  political  history.  When  Emperor  he  had 
his  daily  hour  of  music  in  his  private  apartments,  playing  either 
of  several  instruments  or  singing,  according  to  the  whim  of  the 
moment;  and  Maximilian,  the  youngest,  acquired  a  good  degree 
of  skill  both  in  singing  and  in  the  treatment  of  his  favorite  in- 
strument, the  viola.  Beethoven  once  told  Schindler  that  the 
Elector  thought  very  highly  of  Mattheson.  In  his  reminiscences 
of  a  visit  to  Vienna  in  1783,  J.  F.  Reichardt  gives  high  praise  to 
the  musical  interest,  skill  and  zeal  of  Emperor  Joseph  and  his 
brother  Archduke  Maximilian,  and  a  writer  in  "Cramer's  Mag- 
azine," probably  Neefe,  tells  of  a  "remarkable  concert"  whicli 
took  place  at  court  in  Bonn  on  April  5,  1786,  at  which  the 
Elector  played  the  viola,  Duke  Albrecht  the  violin,  "and  the  fas- 
cinating   Countess   Belderbusch   tlie   clavier    most   cliarmingly." 

Maximilian  had  become  personally  acquainted  with  Mozart 
in  Salzburg  in  1775,  where  the  young  composer  hud  set  Meta- 
stasio's  "II  Re  pastore"  to  music  to  be  performed  in  his  honor 
(April  23rd);  from  which  time,  to  his  credit  be  it  said,  he  ever 
held  the  composer  and  his  music  in  kindest  remembrance.  Wlieii 
in  1781  Mozart  determined  to  leave  his  brutal  Arc]il)ishop  of 
Salzburg  and  remain  in  Vienna,  the  Archduke  showed  at  all  events 
a  desire  to  aid  him. 

Yesterday  (writes  the  composer  November  17.  1781)  the  Arch- 
duke Maximiiian  summoned  me  to  him  at  3  o'clock  in  the  ufler- 
noon.  When  I  entered  he  was  standinjj;  })efore  a  sfove  in  the  first  room 
awaiting  me.  He  came  towards  me  and  aske<l  if  I  liad  anything'  to  do 
to-day?  "Nothing,  Your  Royal  Hi^'hness,  and  if  I  had  it  would  always 
be  a  grace  to  wait  upon  Your  Royal  Highness."     "No;  I  do  not  wish  to 


82  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

constrain  anyone."  Then  he  said  that  he  was  minded  to  give  a  concert 
in  the  evening  for  the  Court  of  Wurtemberg.  Would  I  play  something 
and  accompany  the  aria?  1  was  to  come  to  him  again  at  6  o'clock.  So  I 
played  there  yesterday. 

Mozart  was  everything  to  him  (continues  Jahn) ;  he  signalized  him 
at  every  opportunity  and  said,  if  he  were  Elector  of  Cologne,  Mozart 
would  surely  be  his  chapelmaster.  He  had  also  suggested  to  the  Princess 
(of  Wurtemberg)  that  she  appoint  Mozart  her  music  teacher,  but  received 
the  reply  that  if  it  rested  with  her  she  would  have  chosen  him;  but  the 
Emperor — "for  him  there  is  nobody  but  Salieri!"  cries  out  Mozart  pee- 
vishly— had  recommended  Salieri  because  of  the  singing,  and  she  had  to 
take  him,  for  which  she  was  sorry. 

Jahn  gives  no  reason  why  Mozart  was  not  engaged  for  Bonn. 
Perhaps  he  would  have  been  had  Lucchesi  resigned  in  consequence 
of  the  reduction  of  his  salary;  but  he  kept  his  office  of  chapel- 
master and  could  not  well  be  dismissed  without  cause.  Mattioli's 
resignation  was  followed  by  the  call  of  Joseph  Reicha  to  the  place 
of  concertmaster;  but  for  Mozart  no  vacancy  occurred  at  that 
time.  Maximilian  was  in  Vienna  during  most  of  the  month  of 
October,  1785,  and  may  have  desired  to  secure  Mozart  in  some 
way,  but  just  at  that  time  the  latter  was,  as  his  father  wrote, 
"over  head  and  ears  busy  with  the  opera  *Le  Nozze  di  Figaro.'  " 
Old  Chapelmaster  Bono  could  not  live  much  longer;  which  gave 
him  hope,  should  the  opera  succeed,  of  obtaining  a  permanent 
appointment  in  Vienna;  and,  in  short,  his  prospects  seemed 
just  then  so  good  that  his  determination — if  he  should  really  receive 
an  offer  from  the  Elector — to  remain  in  the  great  capital  rather 
than  to  take  his  young  wife  so  far  away  from  home  and  friends 
as  the  Rhine  then  was,  and,  in  a  manner,  bury  himself  in  a  small 
town  where  so  few  opportunities  would  probably  be  given  him 
for  the  exercise  of  the  vast  powers  which  he  was  conscious  of 
possessing,  need  not  surprise  us. 

Was  it  the  good  or  the  ill  fortune  of  the  boy  Beethoven  that 
Mozart  came  not  to  Bonn?  His  marvellous  original  talents  were 
thus  left  to  be  developed  without  the  fostering  care  of  one  of  the 
very  greatest  of  musical  geniuses,  and  one  of  the  profoundest 
of  musical  scholars;  but  on  the  other  hand  it  was  not  oppressed, 
perhaps  crushed,  by  daily  intercourse  with  that  genius  and 
scholarship. 

Maximilian,  immediately  after  reaching  Bonn  as  Elector, 
ordered  full  and  minute  reports  to  be  made  out  concerning  all 
branches  of  the  administration,  of  the  public  and  court  service 
and  of  the  cost  of  their  maintenance.  Upon  these  reports  were 
based  his  arrangements  for  the  future.     Those  relating  to  the 


Father  and  Sox  in  the  Court  Chapel  83 

court  music  are  too  important  and  interesting  to  be  overlooked, 
for  they  give  us  details  which  carry  us  instantly  into  the  circle 
which  young  Beethoven  has  just  entered  and  in  which,  through 
his  father's  connection  with  it,  he  must  from  earliest  childliood 
have  moved.  They  are  three  in  number,  the  first  being  a  list 
of  all  the  individuals  constituting  the  court  chapel;  the  second  a 
detailed  description  of  the  singers  and  players,  together  with  esti- 
mates of  their  capabilities;  the  third  consists  of  recommendations 
touching  a  reduction  in  salaries.  A  few  paragraphs  may  be 
presented  here  as  most  intimately  connected  with  significant 
personages  in  our  history;  they  are  combined  and  given  in  ab- 
stract from  the  first  two  documents.     Among  the  tenors  we  find 

J.  van  Beethoven,  age  44,  born  in  Bonn,  married;  his  wife  is  32 
years  old,  has  three  sons  living  in  the  electorate,  aged  13,  10  and  8  years, 
who  are  studying  music,  has  served  28  years,  salary  315  fl.  "His  voice 
has  long  been  stale,  has  been  long  in  the  service,  very  poor,  of  fair  deport- 
ment and  married." 

Among  the  organists: 

Christian  Gottlob  Xeefe,  aged  36,  born  at  Chemnitz;  married,  his 
wife  is  32,  has  served  3  years,  was  formerly  chapelmaster  with  Seiler; 
salary  400  fl.  "Christian  Neffe,  the  organist,  in  my  humble  opinion 
might  well  be  dismissed,  inasmuch  as  he  is  not  particularly  versed  on  the 
organ,  moreover  is  a  foreigner,  having  no  Meritten  whatever  and  of  the 
Calvinistic  religion." 

Ludwig  van  Beethoven,  aged  13,  born  at  Bonn,  has  served  2  years, 
no  salary.  "Ludwig  Betthoven,  a  son  of  the  Betthoven  sub  No.  8,  has 
no  salary,  but  during  the  absence  of  the  chapelmaster  Luchesy  he  played 
the  organ;  is  of  good  capability,  still  young,  of  good  and  quiet  deportment 
and  poor." 

One  of  the  items  of  the  third  report,  proposing  reductions  of 
salaries  and  removals,  has  a  very  special  interest  as  proving  that 
an  effort  was  made  to  sui)plant  Neefe  and  give  the  post  of  court 
organist  to  young  Beethoven.     It  reads: 

Item.  If  Ncffe  were  to  be  dismissed  another  organist  would  have 
to  be  af)i)oint('d,  who,  if  he  were  to  be  used  only  in  the  chapel  could  he  hud 
for  150  liorins,  the  same  is  small,  young,  and  a  son  of  a  court  munici,  and 
in  case  of  need  has  filled  the  place  for  nearly  a  year  very  well. 

The  attempt  to  have  Neefe  dismissed  from  tlic  .service 
failed,  but  a  reduction  of  his  salary  to  the  pittance  of  200  florins 
had  already  led  him  to  look  about  him  to  find  an  engagement  for 
himself  and  wife  in  some  theatre,  when  Maximilian,  having  become 
acquainted     with    his    merits     (notwiUistanding    his     Calvinism), 


84  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

restored  his  former  allowance  by  a  decree  dated  February  8, 
1785.  When  Joseph  Reicha  came  to  Bonn  in  Mattioli's  place  is 
still  undetermined  with  exactness;  but  a  decree  raising  him  from 
the  position  of  concertmaster  to  that  of  concert  director,  and 
increasing  his  salary  to  1,000  florins,  bears  date  June  28,  1785. 
In  the  general  payroll  of  this  year  Reicha's  salary  is  stated  to 
be  666  thalers  52  alb.,  "tenorist  Beethoven's"  200  th.,  *'Beetho- 
ven  jun."  100  th. 


Chapter  VI 


Beethoven  Again — The  Young  Organist — A  First  Visit  to 
Vienna — Death  of  Beethoven's  Mother — Sympathetic 
Acquaintances — Dr.  Wegeler's  "Notizen" — Some  Ques- 
tions of  Chronology. 

SCHINDLER  records — and  on  such  points  his  testimony  is 
good — that  he  had  heard  Beethoven  attribute  the  marvellous 
development  of  Mozart's  genius  in  great  measure  to  the  "con- 
sistent instruction  of  his  father,"  thus  implying  his  sense  of  the  dis- 
advantages under  which  he  himself  labored  from  the  want  of  regular 
and  systematic  musical  training  through  the  period  of  his  child- 
hood and  youth. ^  It  is,  however,  by  no  means  certain  that  had 
Ludwig  van  Beethoven  been  the  son  of  Leopold  Mozart,  he  would 
ever  have  acquired  that  facility  of  expression  which  enabled 
Wolfgang  Mozart  to  fill  up  the  richest  and  most  varied  scores 
almost  as  rapidly  as  his  pen  could  move,  and  so  as  hardly  to  need 
correction — as  if  the  development  of  musical  idea  was  to  him  a 
work  of  mere  routine,  or  perhaps,  better  to  say,  of  instinct.  Poeta 
nascitur,  non  fit,  not  only  in  respect  to  his  thoughts  but  to  his 
power  of  clothing  them  in  language.  Many  a  man  of  profound- 
est  ideas  can  never  by  any  amount  of  study  and  practice  acquire 
the  art  of  conveying  them  in  a  lucid  and  elegant  manner.  On 
the  other  hand  there  are  those  whose  thoughts  never  rise  above 
the  ordinary  level,  but  whose  essays  are  very  models  of  style. 
Handel  said  of  the  elder  Telemann,  that  he  could  compose  in 
eight  parts  as  easily  as  he  (Handel)  could  write  a  letter;  and 
Handel's  own  facility  in  composition  was  something  astonishing. 
Beethoven,  on  the  contrary,  as  his  original  scores  prove,  earned 
his  bread  by  tlie  sweat  of  his  brow.  But  no  amount  of  native 
genius  can  comi)ensate  for  the  want  of  thorough  training.  If, 
therefore,  it  be  true  that  nature  had  in  some  degree  limited  his 

'C/crny  also  rj-Ifitcd  that  Bfothovon  had  spoken  to  liim  of  flic  hiirsh  trcfttmont 
and  insufficient  instruction  received  from  his  futlier.  "IJut,"  he  added,  "I  had  talent 
for  music."     From  a  note  by  Otto  Jahn.     Also  see  Cock's  "Musical  Miscellany." 

[85] 


86  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

powers  of  expressing  his  musical  as  well  as  his  intellectual  ideas, 
so  much  greater  was  the  need  that,  at  the  age  which  he  had  now 
reached,  he  should  have  opportunity  to  prosecute  uninterruptedly 
a  more  profound  and  systematic  course  of  study.  Hence,  the 
death  of  Maximilian  Friedrich,  which  must  have  seemed  to  the 
Beethovens  at  first  a  sad  calamity,  proved  in  the  end  a  blessing 
in  disguise;  for  while  it  did  not  deprive  the  boy  of  the  pecuniary 
benefits  of  the  position  to  which  he  had  just  been  appointed,  it 
gave  him  two  or  three  years  of  comparative  leisure,  uninter- 
rupted save  by  his  share  of  the  organist's  duties,  for  his  studies, 
which  there  is  every  reason  to  suppose  he  continued  under  the 
guidance  of  his  firm  friend  Neefe. 

These  three  years  were  a  period  of  theatrical  inactivity  in 
Bonn.  For  the  carnival  season  of  1785,  the  Elector  engaged 
Bohm  and  his  company,  then  playing  alternately  at  Cologne,  Aix- 
la-Chapelle  and  Diisseldorf.  This  troupe  during  its  short  season 
may  have  furnished  the  young  organist  with  valuable  matter  for 
reflection,  for  in  the  list  of  newly  studied  pieces,  from  October 
1783  to  the  same  month  1785 — thus  including  the  engagement  in 
Bonn— are  Gluck's  "Alceste"  and  "Orpheus,"  four  operas  of 
Salieri  (the  "Armida"  among  them),  Sarti's  "Fra  due  Litiganti" 
and  "LTncognito"  in  German  translation,  Holzbauer's  "Gunther 
von  Schwarzburg"  and  five  of  Paisiello's  operas.  These  were, 
says  the  report  in  the  "Theater-Kalender"  (1786),  "in  addition 
to  the  old  and  familiar  French  operettas,  'Zemire  et  Azor,' 
'Sylvain,'  'Lucile,'  'Der  Prachtige,'  'Der  Hausfreund,'  etc.,  etc." 
The  three  serious  Vienna  operas,  "Alceste,"  "Orpheus"  and 
"Armida,"  in  such  broad  contrast  to  the  general  character  of  the 
stock  pieces  of  the  Rhenish  companies,  point  directly  to  Maximil- 
ian and  the  Bonn  season.  The  elector  of  Hesse-Cassel,  being 
then  in  funds  by  the  sale  of  his  subjects  to  George  III  for  the 
American  Revolutionary  War  just  closed,  supported  a  large 
French  theatrical  company,  complete  in  the  three  branches  of 
spoken  and  musical  drama  and  ballet.  Max  Franz,  upon  his  re- 
turn from  Vienna  in  November,  1785,  spent  a  few  days  in  Cassel, 
and,  upon  the  death  of  the  Elector  and  the  dismissal  of  the  actors, 
a  part  of  this  company  was  engaged  to  play  in  Bonn  during 
January  and  February,  1786.  The  performances  were  thrice  a 
week,  Monday,  Wednesday  and  Saturday,  and,  with  but  two  or 
three  exceptions,  consisted  of  a  comedy,  followed  by  a  light 
opera  or  operetta.  The  list  contains  eight  of  Gretry's  compo- 
sitions, three  by  Desaides,  two  by  Philidor,  and  one  each  by 
Sacchini,    Champein,  Pergolesi,    Gossec,    Frizieri,    Monsigny  and 


The  Boy  Organist  Confounds  a  Singer  87 

Schwarzendorf  (called  Martini) — all  of  light  and  pleasing  char- 
acter, and  enjoying  then  a  wide  popularity  not  only  in  France  but 
throughout  the  Continent. 

Meantime  Grossmann  had  left  Frankfort  and  with  Klos, 
previously  a  manager  in  Hamburg,  had  formed  a  new  company 
for  the  Cologne,  Bonn  and  Diisseldorf  stages.  This  troupe  gave 
the  Carnival  performances  in  1787,  confining  them,  so  far  as 
appears,  to  the  old  round  of  familiar  pieces. 

Each  of  these  companies  had  its  own  music  director.  With 
Bohm  was  Mayer,  composer  of  the  "Irrlicht"  and  several  ballets; 
with  the  French  company  Jean  Baptiste  Rochefort  was  "music- 
master";  and  Grossmann  had  recently  engaged  Burgmiiller,  of 
the  Bellomo  company,  composer  of  incidental  music  for 
"Macbeth."  Hence,  during  these  years,  Neefe's  public  duties 
extended  no  farther  than  his  service  as  organist,  for  Lucchesi  and 
Reicha  relieved  him  from  all  the  responsibilities  of  the  church 
and  concert-room. 

That  the  organ  service  was  at  this  time  in  part  performed  by 
the  assistant  organist  is  a  matter  of  course;  there  is  also  an  anec- 
dote, related  by  Wegeler  on  the  authority  of  Franz  Ries,  which 
proves  it.  On  Tuesday,  Friday  and  Saturday  of  Holy  Week, 
portions  of  the  Lamentations  of  Jeremiah  were  included  in  the 
chapel  service,  recited  by  a  single  voice,  accompanied  on  the 
pianoforte  (the  organ  being  interdicted)  to  the  familiar  Gregorian 
chant  tune. 

On  one  occasion,  in  the  week  ending  March  27,  1785,  the 
vocalist  was  Ferdinand  Heller,  too  good  a  musician  to  be  easily 
disconcerted,  the  accompanist  Ludwig  van  Beethoven,  now  in 
his  fifteenth  year.'  While  the  singer  delivered  the  long  passages 
of  the  Latin  text  to  the  reciting  note  the  accompanist  might  in- 
dulge his  fancy,  restricted  only  by  the  solemnity  fitted  to  the 
service.     Wegeler  relates  that  Beethoven 

asked  the  singer,  who  sat  with  unusual  firmness  in  the  tonal  .saddle,  if  he 
would  permit  him  to  throw  him  out,  and  utilized  tiie  somewhat  too  readily 
granted  i)ermis.sion  to  introduce  so  wide  an  excursion  in  the  acc-ompani- 
ment  while  persistently  striking  the  reciting  note  with  his  little  finger, 
that  the  singer  got  so  bewildered  that  he  could  not  find  the  closing  cadence. 
Father  Ries,  the  first  violinist,  then  Music  Director  of  the  Electoral 
Chapel,  still  living,  tells  with  details  how  Chai)elmaster  Lucchesi,  who  was 
present,  was  astonished  by  Beethoven's  playing.  In  his  first  access  of 
rage  Heller  entered  a  complaint  against  IJeethoven  with  the  Elector, 
who  commanded  a  simi)Ier  accomi)animenl,  altliough  tli<"  sjjirited  and 
occasionally  waggish  young  prince  was  amused  at  th(?  (xcurrence. 
Schindler  adds  that  Beethoven  in  his  last  years  remembered  the  circura- 


88  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

stance,  and  said  that  the  Elector  had  "reprimanded  him  very  graciously 
and  forbidden  such  clever  tricks  in  the  future." 

The  date  is  easily  determined:  In  Holy  Week,  1784,  neither  Max- 
imilian nor  Lucchesi  was  in  Bonn;  in  1786  Beethoven's  skill  would 
no  longer  have  astonished  the  chapelmaster.  Of  the  other  char- 
acteristic anecdotes  related  of  Beethoven's  youth  there  is  not  one 
which  belongs  to  this  period  (May,  1784-April,  1787),  although 
some  have  been  attributed  to  it  by  previous  writers. 

Nothing  is  to  be  added  to  the  record  already  made  except 
that,  on  the  authority  of  Stephan  von  Breuning,  the  youth  was 
once  a  pupil  of  Franz  Ries  on  the  violin,  which  must  have  been 
at  this  time;  that,  according  to  Wegeler,  his  composition  of  the 
song  *'Wenn  Jemand  eineReise  thut"^  fell  in  this  period,  and  that 
he  wrote  three  pianoforte  quartets,  the  original  manuscript  of 
which  bore  the  following  title:  "Trois  Quatuors  pour  Clavecin, 
violino,  viola  e  basso.  1785.  Compose  par  (de  L.)  Louis  van 
Beethoven,  age  13  ans."^  The  reader  will  remark  and  understand 
the  discrepancy  here  between  the  date  and  the  author's  age. 
Were  these  quartets  intended  for  publication  and  for  dedication  to 
Max  Franz,  as  the  sonatas  had  been  for  Max  Friedrich?  During 
their  author's  life  they  never  saw  the  light,  but  their  principal 
themes,  even  an  entire  movement,  became  parts  of  future  works. 
They  were  published  in  1832  by  Artaria  and  appear  as  Nos.  75 
and  77,  Series  10,  in  the  Complete  Works. 

One  family  event  is  recorded  in  the  parish  register  of  St. 
Remigius — the  baptism  of  Maria  Margaretha  Josepha,  daughter 
of  Johann  van  Beethoven,  on  May  5,  1786. 

There  is  a  letter  from  Bonn,  dated  April  8,  1787,  in  "Cramer's 
Magazine"  (II,  1385),  which  contains  a  passing  allusion  to  Beet- 
hoven.    It  affords  another  glimpse  of  the  musical  life  there: 

Our  residence  city  is  becoming  more  and  more  attractive  for  music- 
lovers  through  the  gracious  patronage  of  our  beloved  Elector.  He  has 
a  large  collection  of  the  most  beautiful  music  and  is  expending  much  every 
day  to  augment  it.  It  is  to  him,  too,  that  we  owe  the  privilege  of  hearing 
often  virtuosi  on  various  instruments.  Good  singers  come  seldom.  The 
love  of  music  is  increasing  greatly  among  the  inhabitants.  The  piano- 
forte is  especially  liked;  there  are  here  several  Hammer  clavier  e  by  Stein 
of  Augsburg,  and  other  correspondingly  good  instruments.  .  . 
The  youthful  Baron  v.  Gudenau  plays  the  pianoforte  right  bravely, 
and  besides  young  Beethoven,  the  children  of  the  chapelmaster  deserve 

i"Urian's  Reise  um  die  Welt."  Op.  52,  No.  1,  published  in  1805. 

*The  manuscript  formerly  owned  by  Artaria  is  now  (1907)  in  the  possession  of 
Dr.  E.  Prieger  in  Bonn.  The  figure  indicating  the  composer's  age  was  first  written 
"14"   and   then   changed. 


Beethoven's  Introduction  to  Mozart  89 

to  be  mentioned  because  of  their  admirable  and  precociously  developed 
talent.  All  of  the  sons  of  Herr  v.  Mastiaux  play  the  clavier  well,  as 
you  already  know  from  earher  letters  of  mine. 

"This  young  genius  deserves  support  to  enable  him  to  travel," 
wrote  Xeefe  in  1783.  In  the  springtime  of  1787  the  young  "ge- 
nius" was  at  length  enabled  to  travel.  Whence  or  how  he  obtained 
the  means  to  defray  the  expenses  of  his  journey,  whether 
aided  by  the  Elector  or  some  other  Maecenas,  or  dependent  upon 
the  small  savings  from  his  salary  and — hardly  possible — from  the 
savings  from  his  music  lessons  painfully  and  carefully  hoarded  for 
the  purpose,  does  not  appear.  The  series  of  papers  at  Diissel- 
dorf  is  at  this  point  broken;  so  that  not  even  the  petition  for  leave 
of  absence  has  been  discovered.  The  few  indications  bearing 
on  this  point  are  that  he  had  no  farther  aid  from  the  Elector  than 
the  continued  payment  of  his  salary.  What  is  certain  is  that  the 
youth,  now  sixteen,  but  passing  for  a  year  or  two  younger,  visited 
Vienna,  where  he  received  a  few  lessons  from  Mozart  (Ries,  in 
"Notizen,"  page  86) ;  that  his  stay  was  short,  and  that  on  his  way 
home  he  was  forced  to  borrow  some  money  in  Augsburg. 

When  he  made  the  journey  is  equally  doubtful.  Schindler 
was  told  by  some  old  acquaintances  of  Beethoven  "that  on  the 
visit  two  persons  only  were  deeply  impressed  upon  the  lifelong 
memory  of  the  youth  of  sixteen  years:  the  Emperor  Joseph  and 
Mozart."  If  the  young  artist  really  had  an  interview  with  the 
Emperor  it  must  have  occurred  before  the  11th  of  April,  or  after 
the  30th  of  June,  for  those  were  the  days  which  began  and  ended 
Joseph's  absence  from  Vienna  upon  his  famous  tour  to  the  Crimea 
with  the  Russian  Empress  Catharine;  if  before  that  absence,  then 
Beethoven  was  at  least  three  months  in  the  Austrian  capital  and 
had  left  Bonn  before  tlie  date  of  Neefe's  letter  to  "Cramer's  Maga- 
zine"; in  which  case  how  could  the  writer  in  speaking  of  his  young 
colleague  have  omitted  all  mention  of  the  fact?  How,  too,  could 
so  important  a  circumstance  have  been  unknown  to  or  forgotten 
by  Dr.  Wegeler  and  have  found  no  place  in  his  "Notizen,"  which 
moreover,  were  prepared  under  the  eyes  of  both  Franz  Ries  and 
Madame  von  Breuning?  It  will  soon  be  seen  that  BeelJioven 
was  again  in  Bonn  before  July  17 — a  date  which  admits  the  l)are 
possibility  of  the  reported  meeting  with  Joseph  after  liis  return 
from   Russia. 

If  an  oi)inion,  which,  indeed,  is  little  more  than  a  conjecture, 
may  be  hazarded  in  relation  with  this  visit,  it  is  this:  that  if  at 
any  time  the  missing  archives  of  Maximilian's  court  should  come 
to  light  it  will  be  found  tliat  not  until  after  the  busy  week  for 


90  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

organists  and  chapelmusicians  ending  with  Easter  was  leave  of 
absence  granted  to  Beethoven;  and  that,  too,  with  no  farther 
pecuniary  aid  from  the  Elector  than  possibly  a  quarter  or  two  of 
his  salary  in  advance.  In  1787,  Easter  Monday  fell  upon  the  9th 
of  April,  the  day  after  the  date  of  Neefe's  letter.  Making  due 
allowance  of  time  for  the  necessary  preparations  for  so  important 
a  journey,  as  in  those  days  it  was  from  Bonn  to  Vienna,  it  may  be 
reasonably  conjectured  that  some  time  in  May  the  youth  reached 
the  latter  city. 

Let  another  conjecture  find  place  here:  it  is  that  Johann  van 
Beethoven  had  not  yet  abandoned  the  hope  of  deriving  pecu- 
niary profit  from  the  precocity  of  his  son's  genius;  that  he  still 
expected  the  boy,  after  replacing  his  hard  organ-style  of  playing 
by  one  more  suited  to  the  character  of  the  pianoforte,  to  make 
his  dream  of  a  wonder-child  in  some  degree  a  reality.  Hence — 
at  what  fearful  cost  to  the  father  in  his  poverty  we  know  not — 
Ludwig  is  sent  to  the  most  admirable  pianist,  the  best  teacher 
then  living,  Mozart. 

But  enough  of  conjecture.  The  oft-repeated  anecdote  of 
Beethoven's  introduction  to  Mozart  is  stripped  by  Prof.  Jahn  of 
Seyfried's  superlatives  and  related  in  these  terms: 

Beethoven,  who  as  a  youth  of  great  promise  came  to  Vienna 
in  1786  {?y,  but  was  obliged  to  return  to  Bonn  after  a  brief  sojourn, 
was  taken  to  Mozart  and  at  that  musician's  request  played  some- 
thing for  him  which  he,  taking  it  for  granted  that  it  was  a  show-piece 
prepared  for  the  occasion,  praised  in  a  rather  cool  manner.  Beet- 
hoven observing  this,  begged  Mozart  to  give  him  a  theme  for  impro- 
vization.  He  always  played  admirably  when  excited  and  now  he  was 
inspired,  too,  by  the  presence  of  the  master  whom  he  reverenced  greatly; 
he  played  in  such  a  style  that  Mozart,  whose  attention  and  interest  grew 
more  and  more,  finally  went  silently  to  some  friends  who  were  sitting  in 
an  adjoining  room,  and  said,  vivaciously,  "Keep  your  eyes  on  him;  some 
day  he  will  give  the  world  something  to  talk  about." 

Ries  ("Notizen,"  p.  86)  merely  says:  "During  his  visit  to 
Vienna  he  received  some  instruction  from  Mozart,  but  the  latter, 
as  Beethoven  lamented,  never  played  for  him."  Contrary  to 
the  conjecture  above  mentioned  as  to  Johann  van  Beethoven's 
object  in  sending  his  son  to  Vienna,  it  seems,  from  the  connection 
in  which  Ries  introduces  this  remark,  that  the  instruction  given 
by  Mozart  to  the  youth  was  confined  to  composition.  The  lessons 
given  were  few — a  fact  which  accounts  for  the  circumstance  that 

'In  the  first  edition  of  Jahn's  "Mozart"  the  date  is  given  as  here.  In  later  editions 
it  was  corrected  in  accordance  with  Thayer's  suggestion  to  1787. 


Acquaintances  in  Augsburg  91 

no  member  of  Mozart's  family  in  after  years,  when  Beethoven 
had  become  world-renowned,  has  spoken  of  them. 

If  it  be  considered  that  poor  Mozart  lost  his  beloved  father 
on  May  28,  1787,  and  that  his  mind  was  then  fully  occupied  with 
his  new  operatic  subject,  "Don  Giovanni,"  it  will  not  be  thought 
strange  that  he  did  not  exliibit  his  powers  as  a  pianist  to  a  youth 
just  beginning  with  him  a  course  of  study  in  composition,  especially 
as  the  pupil,  in  his  eyes,  was  a  little,  undersized  boy  of  14 — as 
there  is  every  reason  to  believe.  That  pupil's  power  of  handling 
a  theme,  since  Mozart  probably  knew  nothing  of  his  five  years' 
practice  at  the  organ  and  in  the  theatre,  may  well  have  surprised 
him;  but  in  execution  as  a  pianist  he  probably  stood  far,  far  below 
the  master  when  at  the  same  age,  below  the  little  Hummel  (at  that 
very  time  an  inmate  of  Mozart's  family),  and  certainly  below 
Cesarius  Scheidl  (forgotten  name!)  aged  ten,  who  had  played  a 
pianoforte  concerto  between  the  parts  of  an  oratorio  no  longer 
ago  than  the  preceding  22nd  of  December  in  the  grand  concert 
of  the  "Society  of  Musicians."  Had  not  Beethoven's  visit  been 
so  abruptly,  unexpectedly  and  sorrowfully  brought  to  an  end,  he 
would,  doubtless,  have  had  nothing  to  regret  on  the  score  of  his 
master's  playing. 

In  some  written  talks  to  Beethoven  in  the  years  of  his  deafness, 
still  preserved,  are  found  two  allusions  at  least  made  by  his  nephew 
to  this  personal  acquaintance  with  Mozart.  In  the  first  case  the 
words  are  these:  "You  knew  Mozart;  where  did  you  see  him.'*" 
In  the  other,  two  or  three  years  later:  "Was  Mozart  a  good  piano- 
forte player.'  It  was  then  still  in  its  infancy."  Of  course  Beet- 
hoven's replies  are  wanting;  and  herewith  is  exhausted  all  tliat, 
during  the  researches  for  this  work,  has  been  found  relating  to 
his  first  visit  in  Vienna.  The  Vienna  newspapers  of  the  time 
contained  notices  of  the  "wonder-children"  Hummel  and  Scheidl, 
but  none  whatever  of  Beethoven. 

That  the  youth  in  passing  through  Augsburg  must  have  be- 
come acquainted  with  the  pianoforte-maker  Stein  and  his  family 
is  self-evident.  There  is  something  in  a  conversation-book  which 
seems  to  prove  this,  and  also  to  add  evidence  to  the  falsification 
of  his  age.  It  is  this:  in  tlie  spring  of  1824  Andreas  Streicher  and 
his  wife — the  same  Stein's  "Miidl" — whose  appearance  at  the 
pianoforte  when  a  child  of  eight  and  a  half  years  is  so  pif|uantly 
described  Ijy  Mozart,  called  upon  Beethoven  on  their  way  from 
Vienna  into  the  country.  A  few  sentences  of  the  conversation, 
written  in  the  hand  of  the  composer's  nephew,  are  preserved.  The 
topic  for  a  time  is  the   packing   of    movables   and    Beethoven's 


92  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

removal  into  country  lodgings  for  the  summer;  and  at  length  they 
come  upon  the  instruments  manufactured  by  Streicher;  after 
which  Carl  writes:  "Frau  von  Streicher  says  that  she  is  delighted 
that  at  14  years  of  age  you  saw  the  instruments  made  by  her  father 
and  now  see  those  of  her  son."  True,  it  may  be  said  that  this  re- 
fers to  Beethoven's  knowledge  of  the  Stein  "Hammerclaviere"  then 
in  Bonn;  but  to  any  one  thoroughly  conversant  with  the  subject 
these  words  are,  like  lago's  "trifles  light  as  air,"  confirmation 
strong  of  the  other  view.  His  introduction  to  the  family  of  the 
advocate  Dr.  Schaden  in  Augsburg,  is  certain.  Reichardt  was 
in  that  city  in  1790  and  wrote  of  Frau  Nanette  von  Schaden  as 
being  of  all  the  women  he  knew,  those  of  Paris  not  excepted,  far 
and  away  the  greatest  pianoforte  player,  not  excelled  perhaps, 
by  any  virtuoso  in  skill  and  certainty;  also  a  singer  with  much 
expression  and  excellent  declamation — "in  every  respect  an  ami- 
able and  interesting  woman."  The  earliest  discovered  letter  of 
Beethoven  to  Schaden,  and  dated  Bonn,  September  15,  1787, 
proves  the  friendship  of  the  Schadens  for  him  and  fully  explains 
the  causes  of  his  sudden  departure  from  Vienna  and  the  abrupt 
termination  of  his  studies  with  Mozart. 

I  can  easily  imagine  what  you  must  think  of  me,  and  I  can  not  deny 
that  you  have  good  grounds  for  an  unfavorable  opinion.  I  shall  not, 
however,  attempt  to  justify  myself,  until  I  have  explained  to  you  the 
reasons  why  I  hope  my  apologies  will  be  accepted.  I  must  tell  you  that 
from  the  time  I  left  Augsburg  my  cheerfulness  as  well  as  my  health  began 
to  decline;  the  nearer  I  came  to  my  native  city  the  more  frequent  were 
the  letters  from  my  father  urging  me  to  travel  with  all  possible  speed,  as 
my  mother  was  not  in  a  favorable  state  of  health.  I  therefore  hurried 
forward  as  fast  as  I  could,  although  myself  far  from  well.  My  longing 
once  more  to  see  my  dying  mother  overcame  every  obstacle  and  assisted 
me  in  surmounting  the  greatest  difficulties.  I  found  my  mother  still 
alive  but  in  the  most  deplorable  state;  her  disease  was  consumption,  and 
about  seven  weeks  ago,  after  much  pain  and  suffering,  she  died.  She 
was  such  a  kind,  loving  mother  to  me,  and  my  best  friend.  Ah,  who  was 
happier  than  I  when  I  could  still  utter  the  sweet  name,  mother,  and  it  was 
heard .'^  And  to  whom  can  I  now  speak  it?  Only  to  the  silent  image 
resembling  her  evoked  by  the  power  of  the  imagination.  I  have  passed 
very  few  pleasant  hours  since  my  arrival  here,  having  during  the  whole 
time  been  suffering  from  asthma,  which  may,  I  fear,  eventually  develop 
into  consumption;  to  this  is  added  melancholy — almost  as  great  an  evil 
as  my  malady  itself.  Imagine  yourself  in  my  place,  and  then  I  shall 
hope  to  receive  your  forgiveness  for  my  long  silence.  You  showed  me 
extreme  kindness  and  friendship  by  lending  me  three  Carolins  in  Augs- 
burg, but  I  must  entreat  your  indulgence  for  a  time.  My  journey  cost 
me  a  great  deal,  and  I  have  not  the  smallest  hopes  of  earning  anything 
here.     Fate  is  not  propitious  to  me  in  Bonn. 


DiL\TH  OF  Beethoven's  Mother  93 

Pardon  my  detaining  you  so  long  with  my  chatter;  it  was  necessary 
for  my  justification. 

I  do  entreat  you  not  to  deprive  me  of  your  valuable  friendship; 
nothing  do  I  wish  so  much  as  in  some  degree  to  become  worthy  of  your 
regard. 

I  am,  with  the  highest  respect 

Your  most  obedient  servant  and  friend, 

L.  v.  Beethoven, 
Court  Organist  to  the  Elector  of  Cologne.* 

The  Bonn  "Intelligenzblatt"  supplies  a  pendant  to  this  sad 
letter: — "1787,  July  17.  Died,  Maria  Magdalena  Koverich  (sic), 
named  van  Beethoven,  aged  49  years. "^  When  Ferdinand  Ries, 
some  thirteen  years  later,  presented  his  father's  letter  of  intro- 
duction to  Beethoven  in  Vienna,  the  latter  *'read  the  letter  through" 
and  said:  "I  cannot  answer  your  father  just  now;  but  do  you 
write  to  him  that  I  have  not  forgotten  how  my  mother  died.  He 
will  be  satisfied  with  that."  "Later,"  adds  Ries,  "I  learned  that, 
the  family  being  greatly  in  need,  my  father  had  been  helpful  to 
him  on  this  occasion  in  every  way." 

A  petition  of  Johann  van  Beethoven,  offered  before  the  death 
of  his  wife,  describing  his  pitiable  condition  and  asking  aid  from 
the  Elector,  has  not  been  discovered;  but  the  substance  of  it  is 
found  in  a  volume  of  "Geheime  Staats-Protocolle"  for  1787  in 
form  following: 

July  24,  1787 

Your  Elec.  Court  Musician  makes  obedient  representation  that 

Highness  he  has  got  into  a  very  unfortunate  state  because  of  the 

has  taken  long-continued  sickness  of  his  wife  and  has  already  been 

possession  compelled  to  sell  a  portion  of  his  effects  and  pawn  others 

of  this  and  that  he  no  longer  knows  what  to  do  for  his  sick  wife 

petition.  and  many  children.     He  prays  for  the  benefaction  of  an 

advance  of  100  rthlr.  on  his  salary. 

No  record  is  found  in  the  DUsseldorf  archives  of  any  grant 
of  aid  to  the  distressed  family;  hence,  so  far  as  now  appears,  the 
only  successful  appeal  for  assistance  was  made  to  Franz  Ries,  then 
a  young  man  of  32  years,  who  generously  aided  in  "every  way" 
his  unfortunate  colleague.  Where  tlien  was  tlie  Breuning  family? 
Where  Ciraf  Waldstein?  To  these  questions  the  reply  is  tliat 
Beethoven  was  still  unknown  to  them — -a  reply  which  involves  the 

'Lady  Wallace's  translation,  amended.  The  letter  is  preserved  in  the  Ilcclhoven- 
Haus  Museum  in  Konn. 

'The  a^^e  of  Beethoven's  mother  at  the  time  of  her  death  is  here  incorrectly  given. 
It  should  be  40. 


94  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

utter  rejection  of  the  chronology  adopted  by  Dr.  Wegeler,  in  his 
"Notizen,"  of  that  part  of  the  composer's  life.  This  mistake,  if 
indeed  it  prove  to  be  such,  is  one  which  has  been  adopted 
without  hesitation  by  all  who  have  written  upon  the  subject. 
The  reader  here,  for  the  first  time,  finds  Wegeler's  account  of 
Beethoven's  higher  intellectual  development  and  his  introduction 
into  a  more  refined  social  circle  placed  after,  instead  of  before, 
the  visit  to  Vienna;  and  his  introduction  to  the  Breunings  and 
Waldstein  dated  at  the  time  when  the  youth  was  developing 
into  the  man,  and  not  at  a  point  upon  the  confines  of  childhood 
and  youth. 

This  demands  some  explanation. 

The  history  of  Beethoven's  Bonn  life  would  be  so  sadly  im- 
perfect without  the  "Notizen"  of  Dr.  Wegeler,  which  bear  in 
every  line  such  an  impress  of  perfect  candor  and  honesty,  that 
they  can  be  read  only  with  feelings  of  gratefullest  remembrance 
of  their  author  and  with  fullest  confidence  in  their  authenticity. 
But  no  more  in  his  case  than  in  others  can  the  reminiscences  of 
an  aged  man  be  taken  as  conclusive  evidence  in  regard  to  facts 
and  occurrences  of  years  long  since  past,  when  opposed  to  con- 
temporary records,  or  involving  confusion  of  dates.  Some  slight 
lapse  of  memory,  misapprehension,  or  unlucky  adoption  of  an- 
other's mistake,  may  lead  astray  and  be  the  abundant  source  of 
error.  Still,  it  is  only  with  great  diflSdence  and  extreme  caution 
that  one  can  undertake  to  correct  an  original  authority  so  trust- 
worthy as  Dr.  Wegeler.  Such  corrections  must  be  made,  however; 
for  only  by  this  can  many  a  difficulty  be  removed.  An  error  in 
the  Doctor's  chronology  might  easily  be  occasioned  by  the  long 
accepted  false  date  of  Beethoven's  birth,  insensibly  influencing 
his  recollections;  and  certainly  when  Dr.  Wegeler,  Madame  von 
Breuning  and  Franz  Ries,  all  alike  venerable  in  years  as  in  char- 
acter, sit  together  discussing  in  1837-8  occurrences  of  1785-  8, 
with  nothing  to  aid  their  memories  or  control  their  reminis- 
cences but  an  old  Court  Calendar  or  two,  they  may  well  to 
some  extent  have  confounded  times  and  seasons  in  the  vague 
and  misty  distance  of  so  many  years;  the  more  easily  because 
the  error  is  one  of  but  two  or  three  years  at  most.  Bearing 
upon  the  point  in  question  is  the  fact  that  Frau  Karth — who 
distinctly  remembers  the  death  of  Madame  van  Beethoven — has 
no  recollections  of  the  young  Breunings  and  Waldstein  until  after 
that  event. 

Some  words  of  Dr.  Wegeler  in  an  unprinted  letter  to  Beet- 
hoven (1825) :  "inasmuch  as  the  house  of  my  mother-in-law  was 


Dr.  Wegeler's  Chronology  Corrected  95 

more  your  domicile  than  your  own,  especially  after  you  lost  your 
noble  mother,"  seem  to  favor  the  usually  accepted  chronology: 
but  if  Beethoven  was  thus  almost  a  member  of  the  Breuning 
family  as  early  as  1785  or  1786,  how  can  the  tone  of  the  letter  to 
Dr.  Schaden  be  explained?  Or  how  account  for  the  fact,  that, 
when  he  reached  Bonn  again  and  found  his  mother  dying,  and 
his  father  "in  a  very  unfortunate  state"  and  "compelled  to  sell  a 
portion  of  his  effects  and  pawn  others  and  knew  not  what  to  do," 
it  was  to  Franz  Ries  he  turned  for  aid?  The  good  Doctor  is  cer- 
tainly mistaken  as  to  the  time  when  Beethoven  found  Maecenases 
in  the  Elector  and  Waldstein;  why  not  equally  so  in  relation  to 
the  Breuning  family? 

If,  now,  his  own  account  of  his  intimacy  with  the  young 
musician — given  in  the  preface  to  the  "Notizen" — be  examined, 
it  will  be  found  to  strengthen  what  has  just  been  said:  "Born  in 
Bonn  in  1765,  I  became  acquainted  in  1782  with  the  twelve  years 
old  lad,  who,  however,  was  already  known  as  an  author,  and  lived 
in  most  intimate  association  with  him  uninterruptedly  until 
September,  1787"  (and  still  he  could  forget  that  friend's  absence 
in  Vienna  only  a  few  months  before),  "when,  to  finish  my  medical 
studies,  I  visited  the  Vienna  schools  and  institutions.  After  my 
return  in  October,  1789,  we  continued  to  live  together  in  an 
equally  cordial  association  until  Beethoven's  later  departure  for 
Vienna  towards  the  close  of  1792,  whither  I  also  emigrated  in 
October,  1794." 

For  more  than  two  years,  then,  and  ]ust  at  this  period,  Dr. 
Wegeler  was  not  in  Bonn.  Let  still  another  circumstance  be 
noted:  Nothing  has  been  discovered,  either  in  the  "Notizen"  or 
elsewhere,  which  necessarily  implies  that  Wegeler  himself  inti- 
mately knew  the  Breunings  until  after  his  return  from  Vienna  in 
1789;  moreover,  in  those  days,  when  the  distinctions  of  rank  were 
so  strongly  marked,  it  is,  to  say  the  least,  exceedingly  improbable, 
that  the  son  of  an  immigrant  Alsatian  shoemaker  should  liave 
obtained  entree  upon  the  supposed  terms  of  intimacy  in  a  house- 
liold  in  which  the  oldest  cliild  was  some  six  years  younger  than 
himself,  and  which  belonged  to  the  liigliest  social,  if  not  titled 
rank,  until  he  by  the  force  of  his  talents,  culture,  and  liigh  char- 
acter, had  risen  to  its  level.  That,  after  so  rising,  the  obscurity 
of  his  birth  was  forgotten  and  the  only  daughter  ))ecame  his  wife, 
is  alike  lion()ral)lc  to  botli  i)arties.  It  is  unnecessary  to  pursue 
the  point  farther;  the  reader,  luiving  liis  attention  drawn  to  it, 
will  observe  for  lu'mself  the  many  less  prominent,  but  strongly 
corroborating  circumstances   of    the  narrative,  which  confirm  the 


96  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

chronology  adopted  in  it.     At  all  events  it  must  stand  until  new 
and  decisive  facts  against  it  be  found.  ^ 

"My  journey  cost  me  a  great  deal,  and  I  have  not  the  smallest 
hope  of  earning  anything  here.  Fate  is  not  propitious  to  me  in 
Bonn."  In  poverty,  ill,  melancholy,  despondent,  motherless, 
ashamed  of  and  depressed  by  his  father's  ever  increasing  moral 
infirmity,  the  boy,  prematurely  old  from  the  circumstances  in 
which  he  had  been  placed  since  his  eleventh  year,  had  yet  to  bear 
another   "sling    and    arrow  of  outrageous   fortune."     The  little 

'Thayer's  correction  of  Dr.  Wegeler's  account  of  Beethoven's  first  acquaintance 
with  the  family  von  Breuning  was  sharply  criticized  by  a  grandson  of  Wegeler  in  an 
article  published  in  the  Coblenzer  Zeitung  of  May  20,  1890.  Thayer  preserved  Karl 
Wegeler's  article  in  the  library  copy  of  his  biography,  and  had  he  lived  to  revise  his  work 
he  would  undoubtedly  either  have  corrected  his  assertions  or  confirmed  them.  Accord- 
ing to  Dr.  Wegeler  (this  is  the  younger  Wegeler's  argument,  in  brief),  Beethoven  had 
been  introduced  to  the  von  Breuning  family  at  least  as  early  as  1785,  and  in  that  circle 
had  already  met  Count  Waldstein,  who  had  aided  him  in  securing  his  first  salary  as 
Court  Organist.  The  "Notizen"  do  not  fix  the  dates,  though  they  imply  that  the 
occurrences  took  place  before  1785.  As  to  the  statement  of  the  Widow  Karth,  Wegeler 
urges  that  the  testimony  of  a  child  five  years  old  could  have  no  weight  as  against  that 
of  persons  of  mature  age,  and  that  an  acquaintance  might  well  exist  without  intercourse 
in  the  Beethoven  dwelling.  The  letter  to  Dr.  Schaden,  the  product  of  a  melancholy 
mood,  does  not  preclude  the  possibility  that  Beethoven  had  received  help  from  another 
source,  especially  since  great  care  had  to  be  exercised  in  extending  succor  to  him  lest 
his  sensibilities  be  hurt.  Certain  it  is  that  Wegeler,  who  did  not  go  to  Vienna  till  1787, 
had  been  a  faithful  friend  and  helper  in  the  period  of  Beethoven's  destitution,  as  was 
proved  by  a  thitherto  unpublished  letter  of  Beethoven  to  Wegeler,  in  which  the  former 
expressly  stated  that  the  latter  had  known  him,  Beethoven,  almost  since  childhood.  If 
the  von  Breuning  family  were  really  not  on  hand  at  the  time  of  Beethoven's  trouble, 
the  fact  might  be  explained  by  their  annual  sojourn  in  the  country,  which  was  generally 
of  considerable  duration.  Thayer's  assumption  that  Wegeler  himself  did  not  get 
intimately  acquainted  with  the  von  Breunings  until  after  his  return  from  Vienna  (in 
1789)  is  at  variance  with  the  family  recollections,  which  presented  him  as  a  young  student 
(therefore  before  1787)  and  with  him  Beethoven  at  the  time  when  they  became  visitors 
at  the  house.  Weakness  of  memory  on  the  part  of  a  man  so  intellectually  fresh  and 
vigorous  as  Dr.  Wegeler  was  in  1838  (he  died  ten  years  later)  was  not  to  be  assumed; 
least  of  all  can  Dr.  Wegeler  have  erred  concerning  the  beginning  of  his  acquaintance 
with  the  family  from  which  he  got  his  wife.  Finally,  the  intimate  terms  of  friendship 
which  existed  between  Beethoven  and  Eleonore  von  Breuning  could  be  fully  explained 
only  on  the  theory  of  a  childhood  acquaintance. 

In  the  first  edition  of  Thayer's  biography  (1866)  Dr.  Deiters  printed  the  text 
bearing  on  this  question  as  it  is  given  above  without  note  or  comment.  In  the  revised 
edition  of  Volume  I  (1901),  he  reproduced  the  original  text  in  the  body  of  the  page  but 
appended  a  footnote  in  which,  while  asserting  that  an  authority  like  Thayer  ought  not 
to  be  opposed  except  "with  great  diflBdence  and  extreme  caution"  (to  use  Thayer's 
words  referring  to  Dr.  Wegeler),  he  nevertheless  upheld  the  contention  of  Dr.  Wegeler's 
grandson.  He  says:  "The  definite  assertion  of  Wegeler  that  he  made  the  acquaintance 
of  Beethoven  as  early  as  1782,  which  is  supported  by  Beethoven's  own  words,  'you 
knew  me  almost  since  my  childhood,'  is  not  to  be  shaken.  As  little  can  it  be  questioned 
that  Wegeler  had  been  introduced  in  the  Breuning  house  as  a  student  before  his  depar- 
ture for  Vienna  (according  to  Gerhard  von  Breuning  before  his  acquaintance  with 
Beethoven  began);  here  Dr.  Wegeler  could  not  have  made  an  error.  Concerning  his 
bringing  Beethoven  to  the  house  he  gives  no  date;  the  year  1785  is  not  mentioned 
in  the  "Notizen."  On  page  45,  however,  it  is  stated  that  Stephan  von  Breuning  "lived 
in  closest  affiliation  with  him  (Beethoven)  from  his  tenth  year  till  his  death."  Stephan 
was  born  August  17,  1774  {Vide  "Aus  dem  Schwarzspanierhause,"  page  6);  this  would 
indicate  the  year  1784.  Wegeler's  remark,  "especially  after  you  lost  your  noble 
mother,"  makes  it  clear  as  day  that  a  close  friendship  existed  before  the  death  of 
Beethoven's  mother. 


A  Year  of  Sadness  and  Gloom  97 

sister,  now  a  year  and  a  half  old — but  here  is  the  notice  from  the 
"Intelligenzblatt" : — "Died,  November  25,  Margareth,  daughter 
of  the  Court  Musician  Johann  van  Beethoven,  aged  one  j'ear." 
And  so  faded  the  last  hope  that  the  passionate  tenderness  of  Beet- 
hoven's nature  might  find  scope  in  the  purest  of  all  relations  be- 
tween the  sexes — that  of  brother  and  sister. 

Thus,  in  sadness  and  gloom,  Beethoven's   seventeenth  year 
ended. 


Chapter  VII 


The  von  Breuning  Family — Beethoven  Brought  Under  Re- 
fining Influences  —  Count  Waldstein,  His  Maecenas — 
The  Young  Musician  is  Forced  to  Become  Head  of  the 
Family. 

IN  1527,  the  year  in  which  the  administration  of  the  office  of 
Hochmeister  of  the  Teutonic  Order  was  united  with  that  of  the 
Deutschmeister,  whose  residence  had  already  been  fixed  at  Mer- 
gentheim  in  1525,  this  city  became  the  principal  seat  of  the  order. 
From  1732  to  1761  Clemens  Augustus  was  Hoch-und  Deutschmeister 
of  the  order;  according  to  the  French  edition  of  the  Court  Calendar 
of  1761,  Christoph  von  Breuning  was  Conseiller  d'J^tat  et  Referen- 
daire,  having  succeeded  his  father-in-law  von  Mayerhofen  in  the 
office. 

Christoph  von  Breuning  had  five  sons :  Georg  Joseph,  Johann 
Lorenz,  Johann  Philipp,  Emanuel  Joseph  and  Christoph.  Lorenz 
became  chancellor  of  the  Archdeanery  of  Bonn,  and  the  Freiadliges 
Stift  at  Neuss;  after  the  death  of  his  brother  Emanuel  he  lived 
in  Bonn  so  that,  as  head  of  the  family,  he  might  care  for  the  edu- 
cation of  the  latter's  children.  He  died  there  in  1796.  Johann 
Philipp,  born  1742  at  Mergentheim,  became  canon  and  priest 
at  Kerpen,  a  place  on  the  old  highway  from  Cologne  to  Aix-la- 
Chapelle,  where  he  died  June  12,  1831.  Christoph  was  court 
councillor  at  Dillingen. 

Emanuel  Joseph  continued  in  the  electoral  service  at  Bonn; 
at  the  early  age  of  20  years  he  was  already  court  councillor  {Conseil- 
ler actuel).  He  married  Helene  von  Kerich,  born  January  3,  1750, 
daughter  of  Stephan  von  Kerich,  physician  to  the  elector.  Her 
brother,  Abraham  von  Kerich,  canon  and  scholaster  of  the 
archdeanery  of  Bonn,  died  in  Coblenz  in  1821.  A  high  opinion  of 
the  intellect  and  character  of  Madame  von  Breuning  is  enforced 
upon  us  by  what  we  learn  of  her  influence  upon  the  youthful 
Beethoven.  Court  Councillor  von  Breuning  perished  in  a  fire 
in  the  electoral  palace  on  January  15,  1777.     The  young  widow 

[98] 


Beethoven's  Friends  :  The  von  Breunings         99 

(she  had  barely  attained  her  28th  year),  continued  to  live  in  the 
house  of  her  brother,  Abraham  von  Kerich,  with  her  three  children, 
to  whom  was  added  a  fourth  in  the  summer  of  1777.  Immediately 
after  the  death  of  the  father,  his  brother,  the  canon  Lorenz  von 
Breuning,  changed  his  residence  from  Neuss  to  Bonn  and  remained 
in  the  same  house  as  guardian  and  tutor  of  the  orphaned  children. 
These  were: 

1.  Christoph,  born  May  13,  1771,  a  student  of  jurisprudence 
at  Bonn,  Gottingen  and  Jena,  municipal  councillor  in  Bonn, 
notary,  president  of  the  city  council,  professor  at  the  law  school 
in  Coblenz,  member  of  the  Court  of  Review  in  Cologne,  and, 
finally,  Geheimer  Oher-Revisionsrath  in  Berlin.     He  died  in  1841. 

2.  Eleonore  Brigitte,  born  April  23,  1772.  On  March  28,  1802, 
she  was  married  to  Franz  Gerhard  Wegeler  of  Beul-an-der-Ahr, 
and  died  on  June  13,  1841,  at  Coblenz. 

3.  Stephan,  born  August  17,  1774.  He  studied  law  at  Bonn 
and  Gottingen,  and  shortly  before  the  end  of  the  electorship  of 
Max  Franz  was  appointed  to  an  office  in  the  Teutonic  Order  at 
Mergentheim.  In  the  spring  of  1801  he  went  to  Vienna,  where 
he  renewed  his  acquaintance  with  Beethoven.  They  had  simul- 
taneously been  pupils  of  Ries  in  violin  playing.  The  Teutonic 
Order  offering  no  chance  of  advancement  to  a  young  man,  he 
was  given  employment  with  the  War  Council  and  became  Court 
Councillor  in  1818.  He  died  on  June  4,  1827.  His  first  wife 
was  Julie  von  Vering,  daughter  of  Ritter  von  Vering,  a  military 
physician;  she  died  in  the  eleventh  month  of  her  wedded  life. 
He  then  married  Constanze  Ruschowitz,  who  became  the  mother 
of  Dr.  Gerhard  von  Breuning,  born  August  28,  1813,  author  of 
"Aus  dem  Schwarzspanierhause." 

4.  Lorenz  (called  Lenz,  the  posthumous  child),  born  in  the 
summer  of  1777,  studied  medicine  and  was  in  Vienna  in  1794-97 
simultaneously  witli  Wegeler  and  Beethoven.  He  died  on  April 
10,  1798  in  Bonn.i 

'Dr.  Deitcrs,  differing  with  Thayer  on  the  subject  of  the  date  of  the  beginning; 
of  the  intimafy  between  IJeethoven  and  the  von  Hreuning  family,  omitted  in  the  revised 
version  of  tlie  IJedhoven  l)i()grai)hy  the  author's  comments  on  tlie  brief  biographical 
data  concerning  the  sons,  which  were  as  follows:  "These  dates,  couiiiuitiicated  by  Dr. 
(Jerhard,  son  of  Sle[)lian  von  llrcuning,  prove  a  singular  inaccuracy  in  \V<gcl(r's  remark 
('Xachtrag  zur  Notizen,'  page  iH):  'Lciiz,  as  the  youngest  of  the  three  brothers,  was 
nearest  to  Beethoven  in  age.'  "  Of  Stejjiian  he  says:  "Iiuismuch  as  he  had  lived  in  inti- 
mate associatif)n  with  Heelhnven  from  his  tenth  year  up  to  his  death."  Many  a  proof 
of  this  general  fact  will  hereafter  appear;  but  whether  this  "intimate  association"  began 
quite  so  early  is  a  (piestion.  'I'he  two  were  at  the  same  limir  pupils  of  I"'ranz  Ries  on 
the  violin,  and  they  may  well  have  become  atquainted  in  17K,'5  or  17H(J;  but  it  was  not 
favorable  to  extreme  intimacy  that  four  years'  dilference  existe<l  in  their  ages;  and  thai 
the  one  was  but  a  schoolboy  while  the  other  was  already  an  organist,  an  author  and 
accustomed  to  move  among  men. 


100  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

Madame  von  Breuning,  who  died  on  December  9,  1838,  after 
a  widowhood  of  61  years,  lived  in  Bonn  until  1815,  then  in  Kerpen, 
Beul-an-der-Ahr,  Cologne  and  finally  with  her  son-in-law,  Wegeler, 
in  Coblenz. 

The  acquaintance  between  Beethoven  and  Stephan  von 
Breuning  may  have  had  some  influence  in  the  selection  of  the 
young  musician  as  pianoforte  teacher  for  Eleonore  and  Lorenz,' 
an  event  (in  consideration  of  circumstances  already  detailed  and 
of  the  ages,  real  and  reputed,  of  pupils  and  master)  which  may  be 
dated  at  the  close  of  the  year  1787,  and  which  was,  perhaps,  the 
greatest  good  that  fate,  now  become  propitious,  could  have  con- 
ferred upon  him;  for  he  was  now  so  situated  in  his  domestic  rela- 
tions, and  at  such  an  age,  that  introduction  into  so  highly  refined 
and  cultivated  a  circle  was  of  the  highest  value  to  him  both 
morally  and  intellectually.  The  recent  loss  of  his  mother  had 
left  a  void  in  his  heart  which  so  excellent  a  woman  as  Madame 
von  Breuning  could  alone  in  some  measure  fill.  He  was  at  an 
age  when  the  evil  example  of  his  father  needed  a  counterbalance; 
when  the  extraordinary  honors  so  recently  paid  to  science  and 
letters  at  the  inauguration  of  the  university  would  make  the 
strongest  impression;  when  the  sense  of  his  deficiencies  in  every- 
thing but  his  art  would  begin  to  be  oppressive;  when  his  mental 
powers,  so  strong  and  healthy,  would  demand  some  change,  some 
recreation,  from  that  constant  strain  in  the  one  direction  of  music 
to  which  almost  from  infancy  they  had  been  subjected;  when  not 
only  the  reaction  upon  his  mind  of  the  fresh  and  new  intellectual 
life  now  pervading  Bonn  society,  but  his  daily  contact  with  so 
many  of  his  own  age,  friends  and  companions  now  enjoying  advan- 
tages for  improvement  denied  to  him,  must  have  cost  him  many  a 
pang;  when  a  lofty  and  noble  ambition  might  be  aroused  to  lead 
him  ever  onward  and  upward;  when,  the  victim  of  a  despondent 
melancholy,  he  might  sink  into  the  mere  routine  musician,  with 
no  lofty  aims,  no  higher  object  than  to  draw  from  his  talents 
means  to  supply  his  necessities  and  gratify  his  appetites. 

There  must  have  been  something  very  engaging  in  the  char- 
acter of  the  small,  pockmarked  youth,  or  he  could  not  have  so 
won  his  way  into  the  affections  of  the  Widow  von  Breuning  and 
her  children.     In  his  "Notizen"  Wegeler  writes: 

In  this  house  reigned  an  unconstrained  tone  of  culture  in  spite  of 
youthful   wilfulness.     Christoph   von   Breuning   made   early   essays   in 

'Gerhard  von  Breuning  would  have  it  appear  from  a  statement  on  page  6  of  his 
book  "Aua  dem  Schwarzspanierhause,"  that  Beethoven  was  recommended  to  the  von 
Breunings  by  Wegeler. 


Count  Waldstein's  Arrival  in  Bonn  101 

poetry,  as  was  the  case  (and  not  without  success)  with  Stephan  von 
Breuning  much  later.  The  friends  of  the  family  were  distinguished  by 
indulgence  in  social  entertainments  which  combined  the  useful  and  the 
agreeable.  When  we  add  that  the  family  possessed  considerable  wealth, 
especially  before  the  war,  it  will  be  easy  to  understand  that  the  first 
joyous  emotions  of  Beethoven  found  vent  here.  Soon  he  was  treated 
as  one  of  the  children  of  the  family,  spending  in  the  house  not  only  the 
greater  part  of  his  days,  but  also  many  nights.  Here  he  felt  that  he 
was  free,  here  he  moved  about  without  constraint,  everything  conspired 
to  make  him  cheerful  and  develop  his  mind.  Being  five  years  older 
than  Beethoven  I  was  able  to  observe  and  form  a  judgment  on  these 
things. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  besides  Madame  von  Breuning 
and  her  children  the  scholastic  Abraham  von  Kerich  and  the 
canon  Lorenz  von  Breuning  were  members  of  the  household. 
The  latter  especially  seems  to  have  been  a  fine  specimen  of  the 
enlightened  clergy  of  Bonn  who,  according  to  Risbeck,  formed 
so  striking  a  contrast  to  the  priests  and  monks  of  Cologne;  and 
it  is  easy  to  trace  Beethoven's  life-long  love  for  the  ancient  classics 
— Homer  and  Plutarch  at  the  head — to  the  time  when  the  young 
Breunings  would  be  occupied  with  them  in  the  original  under 
the  guidance  of  their  accomplished  tutor  and  guardian.  The 
uncle,  Philipp  von  Breuning,  may  also  have  been  influential  in 
the  intellectual  progress  of  the  young  musician,  for  to  him  at  Kerpen 
"the  family  von  Breuning  and  their  friends  went  annually  for  a 
vacation  of  five  or  six  weeks.  There,  too,  Beethoven  several 
times  spent  a  few  weeks  right  merrily,  and  was  frequently  urged 
to  play  the  organ,"  as  Wegeler  tells  us  in  the  "Notizen."  There 
let  him  be  left  enjoying  and  profiting  by  his  intimacy  with  that 
family,  and  returning  their  kindness  in  some  measure  by  instruct- 
ing Eleonore  and  Lenz  in  music,  while  a  new  friend  and  benefactor 
is  introduced. 

Emanuel  Philipp,  Count  Waldstein  and  Wartemberg  von 
Dux,  and  his  wife,  a  daughter  of  Emanuel  Prince  Lichtenstcin, 
were  parents  of  eleven  children.  The  fourth  son  was  Ferdinand 
Ernst  Gabriel,  born  March  24,  17C2.  Uniting  in  Iiis  veins  the 
l)lood  of  many  of  the  houses  of  the  Austrian  Empire,  there  was  no 
career,  no  line  of  preferment  oi)en  to  younger  sons  of  titled  families, 
which  was  not  open  to  him,  or  to  which  he  miglit  not  aspire.  It 
was  determined  that  he  should  seek  activity  in  the  Teutonic  Order, 
of  whicli  Max  Franz  was  Grand  Master.  According  to  the  rules 
and  regulations  of  the  order,  tlie  young  nol)leman  came  to  Bonn 
to  pass  his  examinations  and  s[)end  his  year  of  novitiate.  Could 
the  time  of  his  arrival  there  be  determined   with  certainty,  the 


lO-^  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

date  would  have  a  most  important  bearing  either  to  confirm  or 
disprove  the  chronological  argument  of  some  of  our  earlier  pages; 
but  one  may  well  despair  of  finding  so  unimportant  an  event  as 
the  journey  of  a  young  man  of  25  from  Vienna  to  tlie  Rhine  any- 
where upon  record.  One  thing  bearing  directly  upon  this  point 
may  be  read  in  the  "Wiener  Zeitung"  of  July  2,  1788.  A  corre- 
spondent in  Bonn  says  that  on  "the  day  before  yesterday,"  i.e., 
June  17,  1788,  "our  gracious  sovereign,  as  Hoch-  und  Deutsch- 
meister,  gave  the  accolade  with  the  customary  ceremonies  to 
the  Count  von  Waldstein,  who  had  been  accepted  in  the  Teutonic 
Order."  Allowing  for  the  regular  year  of  novitiate,  the  Count 
was  certainly  in  Bonn  before  the  17th  of  June,  1787. 

The  misfortune  of  two  unlucky  Bohemian  peasants,  strange 
as  it  may  seem,  gives  us,  after  the  lapse  of  a  century,  a  satisfactory 
solution  of  the  difficulty.  Some  one  reports  in  the  "Wiener 
Zeitung"  of  May,  19,  1787,  that  on  the  4th  of  that  month  two 
peasant  houses  were  destroyed  by  fire  in  the  village  of  Likwitz 
belonging  to  Osegg,  and  adds:  "Count  Ferdinand  von  Waldstein, 
moved  by  a  noble  spirit  of  humanity,  hurried  from  Dux,  took 
charge  of  affairs  and  was  to  be  found  wherever  the  danger  was 
greatest."  It  was  between  May  4  and  June  17,  1787,  that  Wald- 
stein parted  from  his  widowed  mother  and  journeyed  to  tlie  place 
of  his  novitiate.  His  name  may  easily  have  become  known  to 
Wegeler  before  the  latter's  departure  from  Bonn  for  Vienna.^ 
Here  follows  what  the  good  doctor  says  of  the  Count — to  what 
degree  correct  or  mistaken,  the  reader  can  determine  for  himself: 

The  first,  and  in  every  respect  the  most  important,  of  the  Maecenases 
of  Beethoven  was  Count  Waldstein,  Knight  of  the  Teutonic  Order,  and 
(what  is  of  greater  moment  here)  the  favorite  and  constant  companion 
of  the  young  Elector,  afterwards  Commander  of  the  Order  at  Virnsberg 
and  Chancellor  of  the  Emperor  of  Austria.  He  was  not  only  a  connois- 
seur but  also  a  practitioner  of  music.  He  it  was  who  gave  all  manner 
of  support  to  our  Beethoven,  whose  gifts  he  was  the  first  to  recognize 
worthily.  Through  him  the  young  genius  developed  the  talent  to  im- 
provise variations  on  a  given  theme.  From  him  he  received  much 
pecuniary  assistance  bestowed  in  such  a  way  as  to  spare  his  sensibilities, 
it  being  generally  looked  upon  as  a  small  gratuity  from  the  Elector. 

^Dr.  Wegeler's  grandson,  in  his  criticism  of  Thayer's  assertions  concerning  the 
date  of  the  beginning  of  the  acquaintance  between  Beethoven  and  the  von  Breunings, 
falls  foul  of  even  this  ingenious  demonstration,  saying  that  the  incident  of  the  conflagra- 
tion might  have  taken  place  when  Count  Waldstein  was  at  home  visiting  his  mother. 
He  could  not  believe  that  the  Count  had  spent  all  of  the  first  24  years  of  his  life  at  Dux 
in  "idyllic  solitude,"  and  argued  that  he  might  have  visited  Bonn /or  the  first  time  at  an 
earlier  date  than  1787.  Dr.  Deiters  held  that  the  point  was  well  taken;  as  if  there  was 
no  alternative  for  the  young  count  between  "idyllic  solitude"  at  Dux  and  a  sojourn 
at  Bonn! 


LUDWIG    THE   HiL\D    OF    THE   FaMILY  103 

Beethoven's  appointment  as  organist,  his  being  sent  to  Vienna  by  the 
Elector,  were  the  doings  of  the  Count.  When  Beethoven  at  a  later  date 
dedicated  the  great  and  important  Sonata  in  C  major,  Op.  53,  to  him, 
it  was  only  a  proof  of  the  gratitude  which  lived  on  in  the  mature  man. 
It  is  to  Count  Waldstein  that  Beethoven  owed  the  circumstance  that 
the  first  sproutings  of  his  genius  were  not  nipped;  therefore  we  owe  this 
Maecenas  Beethoven's  later  fame. 

Frau  Karth  remembered  distinctly  the  17th  of  June  upon 
which  Waldstein  entered  the  order,  the  fact  being  impressed 
upon  her  mind  by  a  not  very  gentle  reminder  from  the  stock  of 
a  sentinel's  musket  that  the  palace  chapel  was  no  place  for  children 
on  such  an  occasion.  She  remembered  Waldstein's  visits  to 
Beethoven  in  the  years  following  in  his  room  in  the  Wenzelgasse 
and  was  confident  that  he  made  the  young  musician  a  present  of 
a  pianoforte. 

To  save  bis  line  from  extinction  the  Count  obtained  a  dispen- 
sation from  his  vows  and  married  (May  9,  1812)  Maria  Isabella, 
daughter  of  Count  Rzewski.  A  daughter,  Ludmilla,  was  born 
to  him;  but  no  son.  He  died  on  August  29,  1823,  and  the  family  of 
Waldsteins  of  Dux  disappears.  While  all  that  Wegeler  says  of 
this  man's  kindness  in  obtaining  the  place  of  organist  for  Beethoven 
and  of  his  influence  upon  his  musical  education  is  one  grand  mis- 
take,'  there  is  no  reason  whatever  to  doubt  that  those  qualities 
wdiich  made  the  j'outh  a  favorite  with  the  Breunings,  added  to 
his  manifest  genius,  made  their  way  to  the  young  count's  heart 
and  gained  for  Beethoven  a  zealous,  influential  and  active  friend. 
Still,  in  June,  1778,  Waldstein  possessed  no  such  influence  as  to 
render  a  petition  for  increase  of  salary,  offered  by  his  protege, 
successful.  That  document  has  disappeared,  but  a  paper  remains, 
dated  June  5,  concerning  the  petition,  which  is  endorsed  "Beruhet." 
W'hatever  this  word  may  here  mean  it  is  certain  that  Ludwig's 
salary  as  organist  remained  at  the  old  point  of  100  thalers, 
which,  with  the  200  received  by  his  father,  the  three  measures 
of  grain  and  the  small  sum  that  lie  might  earn  by  teaching,  was  all 
that  Johann  van  Beethoven  and  three  sons,  now  respectively  in 
their  eighteenth,  fifteenth  and  twelfth  years,  had  to  live  ui)on; 
and  tJuTcfore  so  much  the  more  necessity  for  the  exercise  of 
Waldstein's  generosity. 

After  the  death  of  the  mother,  says  Frau  Karth,  a  house- 
keeper was  emj)loyod  and  the  father  and  sons  remained  together 
in  the  lodgings  in  the  Wenzelgasse.     Carl  was  intended  for  the 

'Thus  in  Mr.  Thayer's  orif^inal  manuscript.  Dr.  Dciters  omitted  the  remark  in 
his  revision,  but  it  is  here  perniilt<<i  to  stand  aloti),'  witli  otlicr  controverted  matters. 


104  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

musical  profession;  Johann  was  put  apprentice  to  the  court  apoth- 
ecary, Johann  Peter  Hittorf.  Two  years,  however,  had  hardly 
elapsed  when  the  father's  infirmity  compelled  the  eldest  son, 
not  yet  nineteen  years  of  age,  to  take  the  extraordinary  step  of 
placing  himself  at  the  head  of  the  family.  One  of  Stephan  von 
Breuning's  reminiscences  shows  how  low  Johann  van  Beethoven 
had  sunk:  viz.,  that  of  having  seen  Ludwig  furiously  interposing 
to  rescue  his  intoxicated  father  from  an  oflScer  of  police. 

Here  again  the  petition  has  disappeared,  but  its  contents 
are  sufficiently  made  known  by  the  terms  of  the  decree  dated 
November  20,  1789: 

His  Electoral  Highness  having  graciously  granted  the  prayer  of 
the  petitioner  and  dispensed  henceforth  wholly  with  the  services  of  his 
father,  who  is  to  withdraw  to  a  village  in  the  electorate,  it  is  graciously 
commanded  that  he  be  paid  in  accordance  with  his  wish  only  100  rthr. 
of  the  annual  salary  which  he  has  had  heretofore,  beginning  with  the 
approaching  new  year,  and  that  the  other  100  thlr.  be  paid  to  the  sup- 
pliant's son  besides  the  salary  which  he  now  draws  and  the  three  measures 
of  grain  for  the  support  of  his  brothers. 

It  is  probable  that  there  was  no  intention  to  enforce  this 
decree  in  respect  of  the  withdrawal  of  the  father  from  Bonn,  and 
that  this  clause  was  inserted  in  terrorem  in  case  he  misbehaved 
himself;  for  he  continued,  according  to  Frau  Karth,  to  dwell 
with  his  children,  and  his  first  receipt,  still  preserved,  for  the 
reduced  salary  is  dated  at  Bonn — a  circumstance,  however,  which 
alone  would  prove  little  or  nothing. 


/' 


Chapter  VIII 


The  National  Theatre  of  Max  Franz — Beethoven's  Artistic 
Associates — Practical  Experience  in  the  Orchestra — The 
*'Ritterballet" — The  Operatic  Repertory  of  Five  Years. 

EARLY  in  the  year  1788,  the  mind  of  the  Elector,  Max  Franz, 
was  occupied  with  the  project  for  forming  a  company  of 
Hofschauspieler;  in  short,  with  the  founding  of  a  National 
Theatre  upon  the  plan  adopted  by  his  predecessor  in  Bonn  and  by 
his  brother  Joseph  in  Vienna.  His  finances  were  now  in  order,  the 
administration  of  pul)lic  affairs  in  able  hands  and  working  smoothly, 
and  there  was  nothing  to  hinder  him  from  placing  both  music  and 
theatre  upon  a  better  and  permanent  footing;  which  he  now  pro- 
ceeded to  do.  The  Klos  troupe,  which  had  left  Cologne  in  March, 
played  for  a  space  in  Bonn,  and  on  its  dispersal  in  the  summer 
several  of  its  better  actors  were  engaged  and  added  to  others  who 
had  already  settled  in  Bonn.  The  only  names  which  it  is  neces- 
sary to  mention  here  are  those  of  significance  in  the  history  of 
Beethoven.  Joseph  Reicha  was  director;  Neefe,  pianist  and  stage- 
manager  for  opera;  in  the  orchestra  were  Franz  Ries  and  Andreas 
Romberg  (violin),  Ludwig  van  Beethoven  (viola),  Bernard 
Romljerg  (violoncello),  Nicolaus  Simrock  (horn)  and  Anton 
Reicha  (flute).  A  comparison  of  tlie  lists  of  the  theatrical  estab- 
lishment with  that  of  the  court  chapel  as  printed  in  the  Court 
Calendars  for  1778  and  the  following  years,  shows  that  the  two 
institutions  were  kept  distinct,  though  the  names  for  the  greater 
j)art  appear  in  both.  Some  of  the  singers  in  tlie  chapel  played 
in  the  theatrical  orchestra,  while  certain  of  tJie  players  in  the 
chapel  sang  upon  the  stage.  Other  names  appear  in  but  one  of 
the  lists. 

As  organist  tlie  name  of  Beethoven  appears  still  in  the  Court 
Calendar,  but  as  viola  player  jie  Jiad  a  plaei^  in  both  the  orchestras. 
Thus,  for  a  j)eriod  of  full  four  years,  he  had  the  oj)portunity  of 
studying  practically  orchestral  comi)ositions  in  the  best  of  all 
schools — the  orchestra  itself.     This  Ijody  oi'  thirty -one  members, 

[105] 


106  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

under  the  energetic  leadership  of  Reicha,  many  of  them  young 
and  ambitious,  some  already  known  as  virtuosos  and  still  keeping 
their  places  in  musical  history  as  such,  was  a  school  for  instru- 
mental music  such  as  Handel,  Bach,  Mozart  and  Haydn  had  not 
enjoyed  in  their  youth;  that  its  advantages  were  improved  both 
by  Beethoven  and  others  of  the  younger  men,  all  the  world  knows. 

One  fact  w^orthy  of  note  in  relation  to  this  company  is  the 
youth  of  most  of  the  new  members  engaged.  Maximilian  seems 
to  have  sought  out  young  talent,  and  w^hen  it  proved  to  be  of 
true  metal,  gave  it  a  permanent  place  in  his  service,  adopted  wise 
measures  for  its  cultivation,  and  thus  laid  a  foundation  upon 
which,  but  for  the  outbreak  of  the  French  Revolution,  and  the 
consequent  dispersion  of  his  court,  would  in  time  have  risen  a 
musical  establishment,  one  of  the  very  first  in  Germany. 

This  is  equally  true  of  the  new  members  of  his  orchestra. 
Reicha  himself  was  still  rather  a  young  man,  born  in  1757.  He 
was  a  virtuoso  on  the  violoncello  and  a  composer  of  some  note; 
but  his  usefulness  was  sadly  impaired  by  his  sufferings  from  gout. 
The  cousins  Andreas  and  Bernhard  Romberg,  Maximilian  had 
found  at  Miinster  and  brought  to  Bonn.  They  had  in  their  boy- 
hood, as  virtuosos  upon  their  instruments  —  Andreas  violin, 
Bernhard  'cello — made  a  tour  as  far  as  Paris,  and  their  concerts 
were  crow^ned  with  success.  Andreas  was  born  near  Miinster  in 
1767,  and  Ledebur  ("Tonkiinstler  Berlins")  adopts  the  same  year 
as  the  date  also  of  Bernhard's  birth.  They  were,  therefore,  three 
years  older  than  Beethoven  and  now  just  past  21.  Both  were 
already  industrious  and  well-known  composers  and  must  have 
been  a  valuable  addition  to  the  circle  of  young  men  in  which 
Beethoven  moved.  The  decree  appointing  them  respectively 
Court  Violinist  and  Court  Violoncellist  is  dated  November  19,  1790. 

Anton  Reicha,  a  fatherless  nephew  of  the  concertmaster, 
born  at  Prague,  February  27,  1770,  was  brought  by  his  uncle  to 
Bonn.  He  had  been  already  for  some  years  in  that  uncle's  care 
and  under  his  instruction  had  become  a  good  player  of  the  flute, 
violin  and  pianoforte.  In  Bonn,  Reicha  became  acquainted  with 
Beethoven,  who  was  then  organist  at  court.  "We  spent  fourteen 
years  together,"  says  Reicha,  "united  in  a  bond  like  that  of  Orestes 
and  Pylades,  and  were  continually  side  by  side  in  our  youth. 
After  a  separation  of  eight  years  we  saw  each  other  again  in  Vienna, 
and  exchanged  confidences  concerning  our  experiences."  At  the 
age  of  17  composing  orchestral  and  vocal  music  for  the  Electoral 
Chapel,  a  year  later  flautist  in  the  theatre,  at  nineteen  both  flautist 
and  violinist  in  the  chapel  and  so  intimate  a  friend  of  Beethoven, 


Opeil\  uxder  Elector  Max  Franz  107 

who  was  less  than  a  year  his  junior — were  Reicha's  laurels  no 
spur  to  the  ambition  of  the  other? 

The  names  of  several  of  the  performers  upon  wind-instruments 
were  new  names  in  Bonn,  and  the  thought  suggests  itself  that  the 
Elector  brought  with  him  from  Vienna  some  members  of  the 
Harmoniemnsik  which  had  won  high  praise  from  Reichardt,  and 
it  will  hereafter  appear  that  such  a  band  formed  part  of  the  musical 
establishment  in  Bonn — a  fact  of  importance  in  its  bearing  upon 
the  questions  of  the  origin  and  date  of  various  known  works 
both  of  Beethoven  and  of  Reicha,  and  of  no  less  weight  in 
deciding  where  and  how  these  men  obtained  their  marvellous 
knowledge  of  the  powers  and  effects  of  this  class  of   instruments. 

The  arrangements  were  all  made  in  1788,  but  not  early 
enough  to  admit  of  the  opening  of  the  theatre  until  after  the 
Christmas  holidays,  namely,  on  the  evening  of  January  3,  1789. 
The  theatre  had  been  altered  and  improved.  An  incendiary  fire 
threatened  its  destruction  the  day  before,  but  did  not  postpone  the 
opening.  The  opening  piece  was  "Der  Baum  der  Diana"  by  Vin- 
cenzo  Martin.  It  may  be  thought  not  very  complimentary  to 
the  taste  of  Maximilian  that  the  first  season  of  his  National  Theatre 
was  opened  thus,  instead  of  with  one  of  Gluck's  or  Mozart's 
masterpieces.  It  suffices  to  say  that  he,  in  his  capacity  of  Grand 
Master  of  the  Teutonic  Order,  had  spent  a  good  j)art  of  the 
autumn  at  Mergentheim  and  only  reached  Bonn  on  his  return  on 
the  last  day  of  January.  Hence  he  was  not  responsible  for  that 
selection. 

The  season  which  opened  on  January  3,  1789,  closed  on 
May  23.  Within  this  period  the  following  operas  were  performed, 
Beethoven  taking  part  in  the  performances  as  a  member  of  the 
orchestra:  "Der  Baum  der  Diana"  {UArhore  di  Diana),  Martin; 
"Romeo  und  Julie,"  Georg  Benda;  "Ariadne"  (duo-drama  by 
Georg  Benda);  "Das  Miidchen  von  Frascati"  (La  Frasratatia), 
Paisiello;  "Julie,"  Desaides;  "Die  drei  Piichter"  {Les  troU  Fermiers), 
De.saides;  "Die  Entfiihrung  aus  dem  Serail,"  Mozart;  "Nina," 
Dalayrac;  "Trofonio's  Zauberhohle"  {La  grotta  di  Trofonio), 
SaHeri;  "Der  eifersiichtige  Liebhaber"  {UAmanl  jaloux),  Gretry; 
"Der  Schmaus"  (//  Convivo),  Cimarosa;  "Der  Alchyraist," 
Schuster;  "Das  Blendwerk"   (La  fausse  Magic),  Gretry. 

The  second  season  began  October  13,  1789,  and  continued 
until  February  23,  1790.  On  the  24th  of  February  news  reached 
Bonn  of  the  death  of  Maximilian's  brotlier,  the  Emperor  Joscpli  II, 
and  the  theatre  was  closed.  The  repertory  for  the  season  com- 
prised "Don  Giovanni,"  Mozart  (wliich  was  given  tliree  times); 


108  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

"Die  Colonic"  {L'Isola  d'Amore),  Sacchini;  "Der  Barbier  von 
Sevilla"  (//  Barhiere  di  Siviglia),  Paisiello;  "Romeo  und  Julie," 
Georg  Benda;  "Die  Hochzeit  des  Figaro"  (Le  Nozze  di  Figaro), 
Mozart  (given  four  times);  "Nina,"  Dalayrae;  "Die  schone 
Schusterin,"  Umlauf;  "Ariadne,"  Georg  Benda;  "Die  Pilgrimme 
von  Mecca,"  Gluck;  "Der  Konig  von  Venedig"  (//  Re  Teodoro), 
Paisiello;  "Der  Alchymist,"  Schuster;  "Das  listige  Bauernmad- 
chen"  (Lafinta  Giardiniera),  Paisiello;  "Der  Doktor  und  Apothe- 
ker,"  Dittersdorf .  A  letter  to  the  "Berliner  Annalen  des  Theaters" 
mentions  three  operas  which  are  not  in  the  list  of  the  theatrical 
calendar  and  indicates  that  the  theatre  was  opened  soon  after 
receipt  of  the  intelligence  of  the  death  of  Joseph,  and  several 
pieces  performed,  among  them  //  Marchese  Tulipano  by  Paisiello. 
The  writer  also  mentions  performances  of  Anfossi's  (or  Sarti's) 
Avaro  inamorato,  Pergolese's  Serva  padrona  and  La  Villanella  di 
spirito,  composer  unmentioned,  by  an  Italian  company  headed 
by  Madame  Bianchi. 

The  third  season  began  October  23,  1790,  and  closed  on 
March  8,  1791.  Between  the  opening  and  November  27,  perform- 
ances of  the  following  musical-dramatic  works  are  recorded: 
"Konig  Theodor  in  Venedig"  {II  Re  Teodoro),  Paisiello;  "Die 
Wilden"  (Azemia),  Dalayrae;  "Der  Alchymist,"  Schuster;  "Kein 
Dienst  bleibt  unbelohnt,"  (?);  "Der  Barbier  von  Sevilla," 
Paisiello;  "Die  schone  Schusterin,"  Umlauf;  "Lilla,"  Martini; 
"Die  Geitzigen  in  der  Falle,"  Schuster;  "Nina,"  Dalayrae;  "Dr. 
Murner,"  Schuster.  On  March  8,  the  season  closed  with  a  ballet 
by  Horschelt,  "Pyramus  und  Thisbe."  The  reporter  in  the 
"Theaterkalender"  says: 

On  Quinquagesima  Sunday  (March  6)  the  local  nobility  performed 
in  the  Ridotto  Room  a  characteristic  ballet  in  old  German  costume. 
The  author.  His  Excellency  Count  Waldstein,  to  whom  the  composition 
and  music  do  honor,  had  shown  in  it  consideration  for  the  chief  proclivities 
of  our  ancestors  for  war,  the  chase,  love  and  drinking.  On  March  8,  all 
the  nobility  attended  the  theatre  in  their  old  German  dress  and  the  parade 
made  a  great,  splendid  and  respectable  picture.  It  was  also  noticeable 
that  the  ladies  would  lose  none  of  their  charms- were  they  to  return  to 
the  costumes  of  antiquity. 

Before  proceeding  with  this  history  a  correction  must  be 
made  in  this  report:  the  music  to  the  "Ritterballet,"  which  was 
the  characteristic  ballet  referred  to,  was  not  composed  by  Count 
Waldstein  but  by  Ludwig  van  Beethoven.  We  shall  recur  to  it 
presently.  Owing  to  a  long-continued  absence  of  the  Elector, 
the  principal  singers  and  the  greater  part  of  the  orchestra,  the 


Operas  at  Bonn  in  1792  109 

fourth  season  did  not  begin  till  the  28th  of  December,  1791. 
Between  that  date  and  February  20,  1792,  the  following  musical 
works  were  performed:  "Doktor  und  Apotheker,"  Dittersdorf; 
*'Robertund  Caliste,"  Guglielmi;  "Felix,"  Monsigny;  "Die  Dorf- 
deputirten,"  Schubauer;  "Im  Triiben  ist  gut  Fischen"  {Fra  due 
Litiganti,  il  Terzo  gode),  Sarti;  "Das  rothe  Kappchen,"  Dittersdorf; 
"Lilla,"  Martini;  "Der  Barbier  von  Sevilla,"  Paisiello;  "Ende 
gut,  Alles  gut,"  music  by  the  Electoral  Captain  d'Antoin;  "Die 
Entfiihrung  aus  dem  Serail,"  Mozart;  "Die  beiden  Savoyarden" 
{Les  deux  petits  Savoyards),  Dalayrac. 

The  fifth  season  began  in  October,  1792.  Of  the  nine  operas 
given  before  the  departure  of  Maximilian  and  the  company  to 
Mlinster  in  December,  "Die  Mullerin"  by  De  la  Borde,  "Konig 
Axur  in  Ormus"  by  Salieri,  and  "Hieronymus  Knicker"  bj^  Ditters- 
dorf, were  the  only  ones  new  to  Bonn;  and  in  only  the  first  two 
of  these  could  Beethoven  have  taken  part,  unless  at  rehearsals; 
for  at  the  beginning  of  November  he  left  Bonn — and,  as  it  proved, 
forever.  Probably  Salieri's  masterpiece  was  his  last  opera  within 
the  familiar  walls  of  the  Court  Theatre  of  the  Elector  of  Cologne. 

Beethoven's  eighteenth  birtliday  came  around  during  the 
rehearsals  for  the  first  season,  of  this  theatre;  his  twenty-second 
just  after  the  beginning  of  the  fifth.  During  four  years  (1788- 
1792)  he  was  adding  to  his  musical  knowledge  and  experience  in  a 
direction  wherein  he  has  usually  been  represented  as  deficient — as 
active  member  of  an  operatic  orchestra;  and  the  catalogue  of 
works  performed  shows  that  the  best  schools  of  the  day,  save 
that  of  Berlin,  must  have  been  thoroughly  mastered  by  him  in  all 
their  strength  and  weakness.  Beethoven's  titanic  power  and 
grandeur  would  have  marked  his  compositions  under  any  circum- 
stances; but  it  is  very  doubtful  if,  without  the  training  of  those 
years  in  the  Electoral  "Toxal,  Kammer  und  Theater"  as  member 
of  the  orchestra,  his  works  would  have  so  abounded  in  melodies 
of  such  profound  depths  of  expression,  of  such  heavenly  serenity 
and  repose  and  of  such  divine  beauty  as  they  do,  and  which  give 
him  rank  with  the  two  greatest  of  melodists,  Handel  and  Mozart. 


Chapter  IX 


Gleanings  of  Musical  Fact  and  Anecdote — Haydn  in  Bonn — 
A  Rhine  Journey — Abbe  Sterkel — Beethoven  Extem- 
porises— Social  and  Artistic  Life  in  Bonn — Eleonore  von 
Breuning — The  Circle  of  Friends — Beethoven  Leaves 
Bonn  Forever — The  Journey  to  Vienna. 

AS  a  pendant  to  the  preceding  sketches  of  Bonn's  musical 
history  a  variety  of  notices  belonging  to  the  last  three  years 
of  Beethoven's  life  in  his  native  place  are  here  brought  to- 
gether in  chronological  order.  Most  of  them  relate  to  him  person- 
ally, and  some  of  them,  through  errors  of  date,  have  been  looked 
upon  hitherto  as  adding  proofs  of  the  precocity  of  his  genius. 

Prof.  Dr.  Wurzer  communicated  to  the  "Kolnische  Zeitung" 
of  August  30,  1838,  the  following  pleasant  anecdote: 

In  the  summer  of  the  year  1790  or  1791  I  was  one  day  on  business 
in  Godesberger  Brunnen.  After  dinner  Beethoven  and  another  young 
man  came  up.  I  related  to  him  that  the  church  at  Marienforst  (a  cloister 
in  the  woods  behind  Godesberg)  had  been  repaired  and  renovated,  and 
that  this  was  also  true  of  the  organ,  which  was  either  wholly  new  or  at 
least  greatly  improved.  The  company  begged  him  to  give  them  the 
pleasure  of  letting  them  hear  him  play  on  the  instrument.  His  great 
good  nature  led  him  to  grant  our  wish.  The  church  was  locked,  but 
the  prior  was  very  obliging  and  had  it  unlocked  for  us.  B.  now  began 
to  play  variations  on  themes  given  him  by  the  party  in  a  manner  that 
moved  us  profoundly;  but  what  was  much  more  significant,  poor  laboring 
folk  who  were  cleaning  out  the  debris  left  by  the  work  of  repair,  were  so 
greatly  aflfected  by  the  music  that  they  put  down  their  implements  and 
listened  with  obvious  pleasure.     Sit  ei  terra  levis! 

The  greatest  musical  event  of  the  year  (1790)  in  Bonn 
occurred  just  at  its  close — the  visit  of  Joseph  Haydn,  on  his  way 
to  London  with  Johann  Peter  Salomon,  whose  name  so  often 
occurs  in  the  preliminary  chapters  of  this  work.  Of  this  visit. 
Dies  has  recorded  Haydn's  own  account: 

In  the  capital,  Bonn,  he  was  surprised  in  more  ways  than  one.  He 
reached  the  city  on  Saturday  [Christmas,  December  25]  and  set  apart 

[110] 


Joseph  Haydn's  Visit  to  Bonn  111 

the  next  day  for  rest.  On  Sunday,  Salomon  accompanied  Haydn  to  the 
court  chapel  to  listen  to  mass.  Scarcely  had  the  two  entered  the  church 
and  found  suitable  seats  when  high  mass  began.  The  first  chords 
announced  a  product  of  Haydn's  muse.  Our  Haydn  looked  upon  it  as  an 
accidental  occurrence  which  had  happened  only  to  flatter  him;  neverthe- 
less it  was  decidedly  agreeable  to  him  to  listen  to  his  own  composition. 
Toward  the  close  of  the  mass  a  person  approached  and  asked  him  to 
repair  to  the  oratory,  where  he  was  expected.  Haydn  obeyed  and  was 
not  a  little  surprised  when  he  found  that  the  Elector,  Maximihan,  had 
had  him  summoned,  took  him  at  once  by  the  hand  and  presented  him  to 
the  virtuosi  with  the  words:  "Here  I  make  you  acquainted  with  the  Haydn 
whom  you  all  revere  so  highly."  The  Elector  gave  both  parties  time 
to  become  acquainted  with  each  other,  and,  to  give  Haydn  a  convincing 
proof  of  his  respect,  invited  him  to  dinner.  This  unexpected  invitation 
put  Haydn  into  an  embarrassing  position,  for  he  and  Salomon  had  ordered 
a  modest  little  dinner  in  their  lodgings,  and  it  was  too  late  to  make  a 
change.  Haydn  was  therefore  fain  to  take  refuge  in  excuses  which  the 
Elector  accepted  as  genuine  and  sufficient.  Haydn  took  his  leave  and 
returned  to  his  lodgings,  where  he  was  made  aware  in  a  special  manner 
of  the  good  will  of  the  Elector,  at  whose  secret  command  the  little  dinner 
had  been  metamorphosed  into  a  banquet  for  twelve  persons  to  which 
the  most  capable  musicians  had  been  invited. 

Was  the  young  musician  one  of  these  "most  capable  musi- 
cians".' Sunday  evening,  March  6th,  came  the  performance  of 
Beethoven's  music  to  the  "Ritterballet"  before  noticed;  but 
without  his  name  being  known.  Bossier's  "Musikalische  Cor- 
lespondenz"  of  July  13,  1791,  contains  a  list  of  the  "Cabinet, 
Chapel  and  Court  Musicians  of  the  Elector  of  Cologne."  Names 
designated  by  an  asterisk  were  "solo  players  who  may  justly 
be  ranked  with  virtuosi";  two  asterisks  indicated  composers. 
Four  names  only — those  of  Joseph  Reicha,  Perner  and  the  two 
Rombergs — have  the  two  stars;  Beethoven  has  none.  "Hr. 
Ludwig  van  Beethoven  plays  pianoforte  concertos;  Hr.  Neefe 
plays  accompaniments  at  court  and  in  the  theatre  and  at  concerts. 
.  .  .  Concertante  violas  are  played  by  virtuoso  violinists" — that  is 
all,  except  that  we  learn  that  the  Elector  is  losing  interest  in  the 
instrument  on  whieii  Beethoven  played  in  the  orchestra:  "His 
Electoral  Highness  of  Cologne  seldom  plays  the  viola  nowadays, 
but  finds  amusement  at  the  pianoforte  with  operas,  etc.,  etc." 

At  Mergentlieim,  the  capital  of  the  Teutonic  Order,  a  grand 
meeting  of  commanders  and  knights  took  place  in  the  autumn 
of  1791,  the  Grand  Master  Maximilian  Francis  presiding,  and 
the  sessions  continuing  from  Sei)tombor  18  to  October  20,  as  appears 
from  the  records  at  Vienna.  The  Elector's  stay  there  seems  to 
have  been  protracted  to  a  period  of  at  least  three  months. 
During   his   visit   there  of  equal  length  two  years  before,  time 


112  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

probably  dragged  heavily,  so  this  time  ample  provision  was  made 
for  theatrical  and  musical  amusement.  Among  the  visiting 
theatrical  troupes  was  one  called  the  "Hausslersche  Gesellschaft," 
which  played  in  summer  at  Nuremberg,  in  winter  in  Miinster 
and  Eichstadt.  The  entrepreneur  was  Baron  von  Bailaux,  the 
chapelmaster  Weber,  the  elder;  and  among  the  personnel  were 
Herr  Weber,  the  younger,  and  Madame  Weber.  From  Max 
Weber's  biography  of  his  father  it  appears  that  these  Webers 
were  the  brother  and  sister-in-law  of  Carl  Maria  von  Weber, 
then  a  child  of  some  five  years.  "The  troupe,"  says  the  reporter 
of  the  "Theater-Kalender,"  "performs  the  choicest  pieces  and  the 
grandest  operas."  So  the  father,  Franz  Anton  von  Weber,  must 
have  found  himself  at  length  in  his  own  proper  element,  and  still 
more  so  a  year  later,  when  he  himself  became  the  manager. 

This  company  for  a  time  migrated  to  Mergentheim  and 
resumed  the  title  of  "Kurfiirstliches  Hoftheater."  Beethoven 
soon  came  thither  also.  Did  he,  when  in  after  years  he  met  Carl 
Maria  von  Weber,  remember  him  as  a  feeble  child  at  Mergent- 
heim? Had  his  intercourse  there  with  Fridolin  von  Weber, 
pupil  of  Joseph  Haydn,  any  influence  upon  his  determination 
soon  after  to  become  also  that  great  master's  pupil? 

Simonetti,  Maximilian's  favorite  and  very  fine  tenor  con- 
cert-singer, and  some  twenty -five  members  of  the  electoral  orches- 
tra, with  Franz  Ries  as  conductor — Reicha  was  too  ill — inclu- 
ding Beethoven,  the  two  Rombergs  and  the  fine  octet  of  wind- 
instruments,  formed  an  equally  ample  provision  for  the  strictly 
musical  entertainments.  Actors,  singers,  musicians — Simonetti 
and  the  women-singers  excepted — most  of  them  still  young,  all 
in  their  best  years  and  at  the  age  for  its  full  enjoyment,  made  the 
journey  in  two  large  boats  up  the  Rhine  and  Main.  Before  leav- 
ing Bonn  the  company  assembled  and  elected  Lux  king  of  the 
expedition,  who  in  distributing  the  high  offices  of  his  court  con- 
ferred upon  Bernhard  Romberg  and  Ludwig  van  Beethoven  the 
dignity  of,  and  placed  them  in  his  service  as,  kitchen-boys — 
scullions.  It  was  the  pleasantest  season  of  the  year  for  such  a 
journey,  the  summer  heats  being  tempered  by  the  coolness  of  the 
Rhine  and  the  currents  of  air  passing  up  and  down  the  deep  gorge 
of  the  river.  Vegetation  was  at  its  best  and  brightest,  and  the 
romantic  beauty  of  its  old  towns  and  villages  had  not  yet  suflFered 
either  by  the  desolations  of  the  wars  soon  to  break  upon  them 
or  by  the  resistless  and  romance-destroying  march  of  "modern 
improvement."  Coblenz  and  Mayence  were  still  capitals  of  states, 
and  the  huge  fortress  Rheinfels  was  not  yet  a  ruin.     When  Risbeck 


An  Expedition  up  the  Rhine  113 

passed  down  the  Rhine  ten  years  before,  his  boat  "had  a  mast 
and  sail,  a  flat  deck  with  a  railing,  comfortable  cabins  with  win- 
dows and  some  furniture,  and  in  a  general  way  in  style  was  built 
like  a  Dutch  yacht."  In  boats  like  this,  no  doubt,  the  jolly 
company  made  the  slow  and,  under  the  circumstances,  perhaps, 
tedious  journey  against  the  current  of  the  "arrowy  Rhine."  But 
a  glorious  time  and  a  merry  they  had  of  it.  Want  of  speed  was 
no  misfortune  to  them,  and  in  Beethoven's  memory  the  little 
voyage  lived  bright  and  beautiful  and  was  to  him  "a  fruitful 
source  of  loveliest  visions." 

The  Bingerloch  was  then  held  to  be  a  dangerous,  as  it  cer- 
tainly was  a  difficult  pass  for  boats  ascending;  for  here  the  river, 
suddenly  contracted  to  half  its  previous  width,  plunged  amid 
long  lines  of  rugged  rocks  into  the  gorge.  So,  leaving  the  boats 
to  their  conductors,  the  party  ascended  to  the  Niederwald;  and 
there  King  Lux  raised  Beethoven  to  a  higher  dignity  in  his  court — - 
Wegeler  does  not  state  what  it  was — and  confirmed  his  appoint- 
ment by  a  diploma,  or  letters  patent,  dated  on  the  heights  above 
Riidesheim.  To  this  important  document  was  attached  by  thread 
ravelled  from  a  sail,  a  huge  seal  of  pitch,  pressed  into  the  cover 
of  a  small  box,  which  gave  to  the  instrument  a  right  imposing 
look — like  the  Golden  Bull  at  Frankfort.  This  diploma  from  the 
hand  of  his  comic  majesty  was  among  the  articles  taken  by  the 
possessor  to  Vienna  where  Wegeler  saw  it,  still  carefully  preserved, 
in  1796. 

At  Aschaffenburg  on  the  Main  was  tlie  large  summer  palace 
of  the  Electors  of  Mainz;  and  here  dwelt  Abbe  Sterkel,  now  a 
man  of  40  years;  a  musician  from  his  infancy,  one  of  the  first 
pianists  of  all  Germany  and  without  a  rival  in  this  part  of  it, 
except  perhaps  Vogler  of  Mannheim.  His  style  both  as  composer 
and  pianist  had  been  refined  and  cultivated  to  the  utmost,  both 
in  Germany  and  Italy,  and  his  playing  was  in  the  highest  degree 
light,  graceful,  pleasing — ^as  Ries  described  it  to  Wegeler,  "some- 
what ladylike."  Ries  and  Simrock  took  the  young  Romberg 
and  Bcellioven  to  i)ay  their  respects  to  the  nuister,  "who,  com- 
plying with  the  general  request,  sat  himself  down  to  play.  Beet- 
hoven, who  up  to  this  time,"  says  Wegeler,  "had  not  heard  a 
great  or  celebrated  y)ian()forte  player,  knew  nothing  of  the  finer 
nuances  in  the  handling  of  the  instrument;  his  playing  was  rude 
and  hard.  Now  he  stood  with  attention  all  on  a  .strain  by  the 
side  of  Sterkel";  for  this  grace  and  delicacy,  if  not  power  of  execu- 
tion, which  he  now  heard  were  a  new  revelation  to  him.  After 
Sterkel  had  finished,  the  young  Bonn  concertplayer  was  invited 


114  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

to  take  his  place  at  the  instrument;  but  he  naturally  hesitated 
to  exhibit  himself  after  such  a  display.  The  shrewd  Abbe,  how- 
ever, brought  him  to  it  by  a  pretence  of  doubting  his  ability. 

A  year  or  two  before,  Chapelmaster  Vincenzo  Righini,  a  col- 
league of  Sterkel  in  the  service  of  the  Elector  of  Mayence,  had 
published  "Dodeci  Ariette,"  one  of  which,  "Vieni  (Venni)  Amore," 
was  a  melody  with  five  vocal  variations,  to  the  same  accompani- 
ment. Beethoven,  taking  this  melody  as  his  theme,  had  composed, 
dedicated  to  the  Countess  of  Hatzfeld  and  published  twenty-four 
variations  for  the  pianoforte  upon  it.  Some  of  these  were  very 
difficult,  and  Sterkel  now  expressed  his  doubts  if  their  author 
could  himself  play  them.  His  honor  thus  touched,  "Beethoven 
played  not  only  these  variations  so  far  as  he  could  remember 
them  (Sterkel  could  not  find  them),  but  went  on  with  a  number  of 
others  no  less  difficult,  all  to  the  great  surprise  of  the  listeners, 
perfectly,  and  in  the  ingratiating  manner  that  had  struck  him  in 
Sterkel's  playing."^ 

Once  in  Mergentheim  the  merry  monarch  and  his  jolly  sub- 
jects had  other  things  to  think  of  and  seem  to  have  made  a  noise 
in  the  world  in  more  senses  than  one.  At  all  events  Carl  Ludwig 
Junker,  Chaplain  at  Kirchberg,  the  residence  of  Prince  Hohenlohe, 
heard  of  them  and  then  went  over  to  hear  them.  Junker  was  a 
dilettante  composer  and  the  author  of  some  half-dozen  small  works 
upon  music — musical  almanacs  published  anonymously,  and  the 
like,  all  now  forgotten  save  by  collectors,  as  are  his  pianoforte 
concertos — but  at  that  time  he  was  a  man  of  no  small  mark  in 
the  musical  world  of  Western  Germany.  He  came  over  to  Mergent- 
heim, was  treated  with  great  attention  by  the  Elector's  musicians, 
and  showed  his  gratitude  in  a  long  letter  to  Bossier's  "Cor- 
respondenz"  (November  23,  1791),  in  which  superlatives  some- 
what abound,  but  which  is  an  exquisite  piece  of  gossip  and  gives 
the  liveliest  picture  that  exists  of  the  "Kapelle."  We  have  room 
for  only  a  portion  of  it: 

Here  I  was  also  an  eye-witness  to  the  esteem  and  respect  in  which 
this  chapel  stands  with  the  Elector.  Just  as  the  rehearsal  was  to  begin 
Ries  was  sent  for  by  the  Prince,  and  upon  his  return  brought  a  bag  of 
gold.  "Gentlemen,"  said  he,  "this  being  the  Elector's  name-day  he 
sends  you  a  present  of  a  thousand  thalers."  And  again,  I  was  eye-witness 
of  this  orchestra's  surpassing  excellence.  Herr  Winneberger,  Kapell- 
meister at  Wallenstein,  laid  before  it  a  symphony  of  his  own  composition, 

iWegeler's  story  of  the  meeting  between  Beethoven  and  Sterkel  is  confirmed  in 
every  detail  by  a  letter  from  N.  Simrock  to  Schindler,  a  copy  of  which  was  found  among 
the  posthumous  papers  of  Thayer. 


Beethoven's  Meeting  With  Sterkel  115 

which  was  by  no  means  easy  of  execution,  especially  for  the  wind-instru- 
ments, which  had  several  solos  concertante.  It  went  finely,  however,  at 
the  first  trial,  to  the  great  surprise  of  the  composer.  An  hour  after  the 
dinner-music  the  concert  began.  It  was  opened  with  a  symphony  of 
Mozart;  then  followed  a  recitative  and  air  sung  by  Simonetti;  next,  a 
violoncello  concerto  played  by  Herr  Romberger  [Bernhard  Romberg]; 
fourthly,  a  symphony  by  Pleyel;  fifthly,  an  air  by  Righini,  sung  by 
Simonetti;  sixthly,  a  double  concerto  for  violin  and  violoncello  played 
by  the  two  Rombergs;  and  the  closing  piece  was  the  symphony  of 
Winneberger,  which  had  very  many  brilliant  passages.  The  opinion 
already  expressed  as  to  the  performance  of  this  orchestra  was  confirmed. 
It  was  not  possible  to  attain  a  higher  degree  of  exactness.  Such  perfec- 
tion in  the  pianos,  fortes,  rinforzandos — such  a  swelling  and  gradual 
increase  of  tone  and  then  such  an  almost  imperceptible  dying  away, 
from  the  most  powerful  to  the  lightest  accents — all  this  was  formerly 
to  be  heard  only  in  Mannheim.  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  another 
orchestra  in  which  the  violins  and  basses  are  throughout  in  such  excellent 
hands.  .  .  .  The  members  of  the  chapel,  almost  without  exception, 
are  in  their  best  years,  glowing  with  health,  men  of  culture  and  fine  per- 
sonal appearance.  They  form  truly  a  fine  sight,  when  one  adds  the 
splendid  uniform  in  which  the  Elector  has  clothed  them — red,  and 
richly   trimmed   with   gold. 

I  heard  also  one  of  the  greatest  of  pianists — the  dear,  good  Bet- 
hofen,  some  compositions  by  whom  appeared  in  the  Spires  "Blumenlese" 
in  1783,  written  in  his  eleventh  year.  True,  he  did  not  perform  in  public, 
probably  the  instrument  here  was  not  to  his  mind.  It  is  one  of  Spath's 
make,  and  at  Bonn  he  plays  upon  one  by  Steiner.  But,  what  was  infin- 
itely preferable  to  me,  I  heard  him  extemporize  in  private;  yes,  I  was 
even  invited  to  propose  a  theme  for  him  to  vary.  The  greatness  of  this 
amiable,  light-hearted  man,  as  a  virtuoso,  may  in  my  opinion  be  safely 
estimated  from  his  almost  inexhaustible  wealth  of  ideas,  the  altogether 
characteristic  style  of  expression  in  his  playing,  and  the  great  execution 
which  he  displays.  I  know,  therefore,  no  one  thing  which  he  lacks, 
that  conduces  to  the  greatness  of  an  artist.  I  have  heard  Vogler  upon 
the  pianoforte — of  his  organ  playing  I  say  noLliing,  not  having  heard 
him  upon  that  instrument — have  often  heard  him,  heard  him  by  the 
the  hour  together,  and  never  failed  to  wonder  at  his  astonishing  execu- 
tion; })ut  Bethofen,  in  addition  to  the  execution,  has  greater  clearness 
and  weight  of  idea,  and  more  expression — in  short,  he  is  more  for  the 
heart — equally  great,  therefore,  as  an  adagio  or  allegro  player.  Even 
the  members  of  this  remarkable  orchestra  are,  without  exceplloii,  his 
admirers,  and  all  ears  when  he  plays.  Yet  he  is  exceedingly  modest 
and  free  from  all  pretension.  lie,  however,  acknowledged  to  me,  that, 
u|)on  the  journeys  which  the  Elector  had  enabled  him  to  make,  he  had 
seldom  found  in  the  f)laying  of  the  most  distiiignished  virtuosos  that 
excellence  which  he  supposed  he  had  a  right  to  expect,  ilis  style  of 
treating  his  instrument  is  .so  different  from  that  usually  adopted,  that 
it  impresses  one  with  the  idea,  that  by  a  path  of  his  own  discovery  he 
has  attained  that  height  of  excellence  whereon  h<;  now  stands. 

Had  I  af'ceded  to  the  pressing  entreaties  of  my  friend  Befhofen, 
to  which  Ilerr  Winterberger  added  his  own,  and  remained  another  day 


116  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

in  Mergentheim,  I  have  no  doubt  he  would  have  played  to  me  hours; 
and  the  day,  thus  spent  in  the  society  of  these  two  great  artists,  would 
have  been  transformed  into  a  day  of  the  highest  bliss. 

There  is  one  passage  in  this  exceedingly  valuable  and  inter- 
esting letter  which,  in  the  present  state  of  knowledge  of  Beethoven's 
youth,  is  utterly  inexplicable.  It  is  this:  "Yet  he  is  exceedingly 
modest  and  free  from  all  pretension.  He,  however,  acknowl- 
edged to  me  that  upon  the  journeys  which  the  Elector  had  en- 
abled him  to  make,  he  had  seldom  found  in  the  playing  of  the 
most  distinguished  virtuosos  that  excellence  which  he  supposed 
he  had  a  right  to  expect."  What  were  the  journeys.'^  Who  can 
tell.^ 

There  is  but  one  more  to  add  to  these  musical  reminiscences 
of  that  period — another  visit  of  Joseph  Haydn,  who,  having 
changed  the  plan  of  his  route,  returned  in  July  via  Bonn  from 
London  to  Vienna.  The  electoral  orchestra  gave  him  a  break- 
fast at  Godesberg  and  there  Beethoven  laid  before  him  a  cantata 
"which  received  the  particular  attention  of  Haydn,  who  encouraged 
its  author  to  continue  study."  It  is  not  improbable  that  the 
arrangements  were  in  part  now  made  under  which  the  young 
composer  became  a  few  months  later  the  pupil  of  the  veteran. 

Many  a  eulogy  has  been  written  upon  Max  Franz  for  his 
supposed  protection  of,  and  favors  granted  to,  the  young  Beet- 
hoven. It  has,  however,  already  been  made  clear  that  except 
the  gracious  reprimand  at  the  time  when  the  singer  Heller  was 
made  the  subject  of  the  boy's  joke,  all  the  facts  and  anecdotes  upon 
which  those  eulogies  are  based  belong  to  a  much  later  than  the 
supposed  period.  The  appointment  of  Beethoven  as  Chamber 
Musician  (1789)  was  no  distinguishing  mark  of  favor.  Half  a 
dozen  other  youths  of  his  age  shared  it  with  him.  His  being  made 
Court  Pianist  was  a  matter  of  course;  for  whom  had  he  as  a  rival? 
Had  he  been  in  any  great  degree  a  favorite  of  the  Elector,  what 
need  had  there  been  of  his  receiving  from  Waldstein,  as  Wegeler 
states,  "much  pecuniary  assistance  bestowed  in  such  a  way  as 
to  spare  his  sensibilities,  it  being  generally  looked  upon  as  a  small 
gratuity  from  the  Elector.'^"  One  general  remark  may  be  made 
here  which  has  a  bearing  upon  this  point,  namely:  that  Beet- 
hoven's dedications  of  important  works  throughout  his  life  were, 
as  a  rule,  made  to  persons  from  whom  he  had  received,  or  from 
whom  he  had  hopes  of  receiving,  pecuniary  benefits.  Indeed,  in  one 
notable  case  where  such  a  dedication  produced  him  nothing,  he 
never  forgot  nor  forgave  the  omission.  Had  he  felt  that  Maxi- 
milian was  in  any  single  instance  really  generous  toward  him, 


Barbara  Koch;  Eleonore  von  Breuning         117 

why  did  he  never  dedicate  any  work  to  him?  TMiy  in  all  the 
correspondence,  private  memoranda  and  recorded  conversations, 
which  have  been  examined  for  this  work,  has  Beethoven  never 
mentioned  him  either  in  terms  of  gratitude,  or  in  any  manner 
whatever?  All  idea  that  his  relations  to  the  Elector  were  different 
from  those  of  Bernhard  Romberg,  Franz  Ries  or  Anton  Reicha, 
must  be  given  up.  He  was  organist,  pianist,  member  of  the 
orchestra;  and  for  these  services  received  his  pay  like  others. 
There  is  no  proof  of  more,  no  indication  of  less. 

But  with  Waldstein,  the  case  was  otherwise.  The  young 
count,  eight  years  older  than  Beethoven,  coming  direct  from 
Vienna,  where  his  family  connections  gave  him  access  to  the  salons 
of  the  very  highest  rank  of  the  nobility,  was  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  the  noblest  and  best  that  the  imperial  capital  could  show 
in  the  art  of  music.  Himself  more  than  an  ordinary  dilettante, 
he  could  judge  of  the  youth's  powers  and  became  his  friend.  We 
have  seen  that  he  used  occasionally  to  go  to  the  modest  room  in 
the  Wenzelgasse,  that  he  even  employed  Beethoven  to  compose 
his  "Ritterballet"  music,  and  we  shall  see,  that  he  foretold  the 
future  eminence  of  the  composer  and  that  the  name,  Beethoven, 
would  stand  next  those  of  Mozart  and  Haydn  on  the  roll  of  fame. 
Waldstein's  name,  too,  is  in  Beethoven's  roll  of  fame;  it  stands 
in  the  list  of  those  to  whom  important  works  are  dedicated.  The 
dedication  of  the  twenty-four  variations  on  "Venni  Amore"  to 
the  Countess  Hatzfeld  indicates,  if  it  does  not  prove,  that  Beet- 
hoven's deserts  were  neither  unknown  nor  unacknowledged  at 
her  house. 

At  that  time  the  favorite  places  of  resort  for  the  professors 
of  the  new  university  and  for  young  men  whose  education  and 
position  at  court  or  in  society  were  such  as  to  make  them  welcome 
guests,  was  the  house  on  the  Market-place  now  known  as  the 
Zehrgarten;  and  there,  says  Frau  Karth,  Beethoven  was  in  the 
liabit  of  going.  A  large  portion  of  this  house  was  let  in  lodgings, 
and  it  is  said  that  Eugene  Beauluirnais,  with  his  wife  and  children, 
at  one  time  occupied  the  first  floor.  Its  mistress  was  the  Widow 
Koch  who  s])read  also  a  table  for  a  select  conipjiny  of  boarders. 
Her  name,  too,  often  ap[)ears  in  the  'Tntelligtn/blatl"  of  Bonn 
in  advertisements  of  books  and  music.  Of  her  three  children, 
a  son  and  two  daughters,  the  beautiful  Barbara — the  Babette 
Koch  mentioned  in  a  letter  of  B<'etlioven's — was  the  belle  of 
Bonn.  Wegeler's  eulogy  of  her  ("Notizen,"  j).  58)  contains  the 
names  of  several  members  of  that  circle  whom,  doubtless,  the 
young  composer  so  often  met  at  the  house. 


118  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

She  was  a  confidential  friend  of  Eleonore  von  Breuning,  a  lady 
who  of  all  the  representatives  of  the  female  sex  that  I  met  in  a  rather 
active  and  long  life  came  nearest  the  ideal  of  a  perfect  woman — an  opinion 
which  is  confirmed  by  all  who  had  the  good  fortune  to  know  her  well. 
She  was  surrounded  not  only  by  young  artists  like  Beethoven,  the  two 
Rombergs,  Reicha,  the  twin  brothers  Kiigelchen  and  others,  but  also  by 
the  intellectual  men  of  all  classes  and  ages,  such  as  D.  Crevelt,  Prof. 
Velten,  who  died  early,  Fischenich,  who  afterward  became  Municipal 
Councillor,  Prof.  Thaddaus  Dereser,  afterward  capitular  of  the  cathedral, 
Wrede,  who  became  a  bishop,  Meckel  and  Floret,  secretaries  of  the 
Elector,  Malchus,  private  secretary  of  the  Austrian  minister  von  Kever- 
berg,  later  Government  Councillor  of  Holland,  Court  Councillor  von 
Bourscheidt,  Christian  von  Breuning  and  many  others. 

About  the  time  Beethoven  left  Bonn  for  Vienna,  the  wife  of 
Count  Anton  von  Belderbusch,  nephew  of  the  deceased  minister 
of  that  name,  had  deserted  her  husband  for  the  embraces  of  a 
certain  Baron  von  Lichtenstein,  and  Babette  Koch  was  engaged 
as  governess  and  instructress  of  the  motherless  children.  In 
process  of  time  Belderbusch  obtained  a  divorce  (under  the  French 
law)  from  his  adulterous  wife  and  married  the  governess,  August 
9,  180^2. 

But  it  was  in  the  Breuning  house  that  Beethoven  enjoyed 
and  profited  most.  The  mother's  kindness  towards  him  gave 
her  both  the  right  and  the  power  to  urge  and  compel  him  to  the 
performance  of  his  duties;  and  this  power  over  him  in  his  obstinate 
and  passionate  moods  she  possessed  in  a  higher  degree  than  any 
other  person.  Wegeler  gives  an  anecdote  in  point:  Baron  West- 
phal  von  Fiirstenberg,  until  now  in  the  service  of  the  Elector, 
w^as  appointed  minister  to  the  Dutch  and  Westphalian  Circuit 
and  to  the  courts  of  Cologne  and  Treves,  his  headquarters  being 
at  Bonn.  He  resided  in  the  large  house  which  is  now  occupied 
by  the  post-office,  directly  behind  the  statue  of  him  who  was  en- 
gaged as  music  teacher  in  the  count's  family.  The  Breuning 
house  was  but  a  few  steps  distant  diagonally  across  a  corner  of 
the  square.  Here  Madame  von  Breuning  was  sometimes  com- 
pelled to  use  her  authority  and  force  the  young  man  to  go  to  his 
lessons.  Knowing  that  she  was  watching  him  he  would  go,  ut 
iniquoe  mentis  asellus,  but  sometimes  at  the  very  door  would  turn 
back  and  excuse  himself  on  the  plea  that  to-day  it  was  impossible 
to  give  a  lesson — to-morrow  he  w^ould  give  two;  to  which,  as  upon 
other  occasions  w^hen  reasoning  with  him  was  of  no  avail,  the  good 
lady  w^ould  shrug  her  shoulders  with  the  remark:  "He  has  his 
rajptus  again,"  an  expression  which  the  rapt  Beethoven  never 
forgot.     Most  happy  was  it  for  him  that  in  Madame  von  Breuning 


Beethoven  in  the  Breuning  House  119 

he  had  a  friend  who  understood  his  character  thoroughly,  who 
cherished  affection  for  him,  who  could  and  did  so  effectually  act 
as  peace-maker  when  the  harmony  between  him  and  her  children 
was  disturbed.  Schindler  is  a  witness  that  just  for  this  phase 
of  her  motherly  care  Beethoven,  down  to  the  close  of  life,  was 
duly  grateful. 

In  his  later  days  he  still  called  the  members  of  this  family  his 
guardian  angels  of  that  time  and  remembered  with  pleasure  the  many 
reprimands  which  he  had  received  from  the  lady  of  the  house.  "She 
understood,"  said  he,  "how  to  keep  insects  off  the  flowers."  By  insects 
he  meant  certain  friendships  which  had  already  begun  to  threaten  danger 
to  the  natural  development  of  his  talent  and  a  proper  measure  of  artistic 
consciousness  by  awakening  vanity  in  him  by  their  flatteries.  He  was 
already  near  to  considering  himself  a  famous  artist,  and  therefore  more 
inclined  to  give  heed  to  those  who  encouraged  him  in  his  illusions  than 
such  as  set  before  him  the  fact  that  he  had  still  to  learn  everything  that 
makes  a  master  out  of  a  disciple. 

This  is  well  said,  is  very  probable  in  itself,  and  belongs  in 
the  category  of  facts  as  to  which  Schindler  is  a  trustworthy 
witness. 

Stephan  von  Breuning  became  so  good  a  violinist  as  to  play 
occasionally  in  the  electoral  orchestra.  As  he  grew  older,  and 
the  comparative  difference  in  age  between  him  and  Beetlioven 
lessened,  the  acquaintance  between  them  became  one  of  great 
intimacy.  Fran  Karth  says  he  was  a  frequent  visitor  in  the 
Wenzelgasse,  and  she  had  a  lively  recollection  of  "the  noise  they 
used  to  make  with  their  music"  in  the  room  overhead.  Lenz, 
the  youngest  of  the  Breunings,  was  but  fifteen  when  his  teacher 
left  Bonn,  but  a  few  years  after  he  became  a  pupil  of  Beethoven 
again  in  Vienna  and  became  a  good  pianist.  For  him  the  com- 
poser seems  to  have  cherished  a  warm  affection,  one  to  which 
the  seven  years'  difference  in  their  ages  gave  a  peculiar  tender- 
ness. It  has  been  supposed  that  Beethoven  at  one  time  indulged 
a  warmer  feeling  than  mere  friendship  for  Eleonorc  von  Breuning; 
})ut  tliis  idea  is  utterly  unsui)ported  l)y  anything  wliich  has  been 
discovered  during  the  incpiiries   made  for  this  work. 

Beethoven's  remarkable  powers  of  improvising  were  often 
exhibited  at  the  Breuning  house.     Wegeler  has  an  anecdote   here: 

Once  when  Beethoven  was  improvising  at  the  house  of  the  Breunings 
(on  which  oc-casions  he  used  frequently  to  he  asked  to  churacterize  in 
the  music  some  well-known  person)  Father  Ries  was  urged  to  accompany 
him  upon  the  violin.  After  some  hesitation  he  consented,  and  this  may 
have  been  the  first  time  that  two  artists  improvised  a  duo. 


120  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

Beethoven  had  in  common  with  all  men  of  original  and 
creative  genius  a  strong  repugnance  to  the  drudgery  of  forcing 
the  elements  of  his  art  into  dull  brains  and  awkward  fingers;  but 
that  this  repugnance  was  "extraordinary,"  as  Wegeler  says,  does 
not  appear.  A  Frau  von  Bevervorde,  one  of  his  Bonn  pupils, 
assured  Schindler  that  she  never  had  any  complaint  to  make  of 
her  teacher  in  respect  to  either  the  regularity  of  his  lessons  or 
his  general  course  of  instruction.  Nor  is  there  anything  now 
to  be  gathered  from  the  traditions  at  Vienna  which  justifies  the 
epithet.  Ries's  experience  is  not  here  in  point,  for  his  relations 
to  Beethoven  were  like  those  of  little  Hummel  to  Mozart.  He 
received  such  instruction  gratis  as  the  master  in  leisure  moments 
felt  disposed  to  give.  There  was  no  pretence  of  systematic  teach- 
ing at  stated  hours.  The  occasional  neglect  of  a  lesson  at  Baron 
Westphal's,  as  detailed  in  the  anecdote  above  given,  may  be  ex- 
plained on  other  ground  than  that  of  extraordinary  repugnance 
to  teaching.  Beethoven  was,  in  1791-'92,  just  at  the  age  when 
the  desire  for  distinction  was  fresh  and  strong;  he  was  conscious  of 
powers  still  not  fully  developed;  his  path  was  diverse  from  that 
of  the  other  young  men  with  whom  he  associated  and  who,  from 
all  that  can  be  gathered  now  on  the  subject,  had  little  faith  in 
that  which  he  had  chosen.  He  must  have  felt  the  necessity  of 
other  instruction,  or,  at  all  events,  of  better  opportunities  to  com- 
pare his  powers  with  those  of  others,  to  measure  himself  by  a 
higher  standard,  to  try  the  effect  of  his  compositions  in  another 
sphere,  to  satisfy  himself  that  his  instincts  as  a  composer  were 
true  and  that  his  deviations  from  the  beaten  track  were  not  wild 
and  capricious.  Waldstein,  we  know  from  Wegeler  (and  this 
is  confirmed  by  his  own  words),  had  faith  in  him  and  his  works, 
and  it  will  be  seen  that  another,  Fischenich,  had  also.  But 
what  would  be  said  of  him  and  his  compositions  in  the  city  of 
Mozart,  Haydn,  Gluck?  To  this  add  the  restlessness  of  an  am- 
bitious youth  to  whom  the  routine  of  duties,  which  must  long 
since  in  great  measure  have  lost  the  charm  of  novelty,  had  become 
tedious,  and  the  natural  longing  of  young  men  for  the  great  world, 
for  a  wider  field  of  action,  had  grown  almost  insupportable. 

Or  Beethoven's  raptus  may  just  then  have  had  a  very  differ- 
ent origin;  Jeannette  d'Honrath,  or  Fraulein  Westerhold,  was 
perhaps  the  innocent  cause — two  young  ladies  whose  names  are 
preserved  by  Wegeler  of  the  many  for  whom  he  says  his  friend 
at  various  times  indulged  transient,  but  not  the  less  ardent,  pas- 
sions. The  former  was  from  Cologne,  whence  she  occasionally 
came  to  Bonn  to  pass  a  few  weeks  with  Eleonore  von  Breuning. 


Beethoven's  Sweethearts  in  Bonn  121 

"She  was  a  beautiful,  vivacious  blond,  of  good  education,"  says 
Wegeler,  "and  amiable  disposition,  who  enjoyed  music  greatly  and  pos- 
sessed an  agreeable  voice;  wherefore  she  several  times  teased  our  friend 
by  singing  a  song,  familiar  at  the  time,  beginning: 

'Mich  heute  noch  von  dir  zu  trennen 
Und  dieses  nicht  verhindern  konnen, 

1st  zu  empfindlich  fiir   mein  Herz!' 

for  the  favored  rival  was  the  Austrian  recruiting  officer  in  Cologne, 
Carl  Greth,  who  married  the  young  lady  and  died  on  October  15,  1827, 
as  Field  Marshal  General,  Commander  of  the  23rd  Regiment  of  Infantry 
and  Commandant  at  Temesvar."^ 

The  passion  for  Miss  d'Honrath  was  eclipsed  by  a  subsequent 
fancy  for  a  Fraulein  von  Westerhold.  The  Court  Calendars  of 
these  years  name  "Hochfiirstlich  Miinsterischer  Obrist-Stall- 
meister,  Sr.  Excellenz  der  Hochwohlgeborne  Herr  Friedrich 
Rudolph  Anton,  Freyherr  von  Westerhold-Giesenberg,  kurkol- 
nischer  und  Hochstift-Miinsterischer  Geheimrath."  This  much 
betitled  man,  according  to  Neefe  (Spazier's  "Berlin.  Mus.  Zeitung"), 

played  the  bassoon  himself  and  maintained  a  fair  band  among  his  ser- 
vants, particularly  players  of  wind-instruments.  He  had  two  sons,  one 
of  whom  was  a  master  of  the  flute,  and  two  daughters.  The  elder 
daughter — the  younger  was  still  a  child — Maria  Anna  Wilhelmine,  was 
born  on  July  24,  1774,  married  Baron  Friedrich  Clemens  von  Elverfeldt, 
called  von  Beverfode-Werries,  on  April  24,  1792,  and  died  on  November 
3,  1852.  She  was  an  excellent  pianist.  In  MUnster,  Neefe  heard  "the 
fiery  Mad.  von  Elverfeldt  play  a  difficult  sonata  by  Sardi  (not  Sarti) 
with  a  rapidity  and  accuracy  that  were  marvellous." 

It  is  not  .surprising  that  Beethoven's  talent  should  have  met 
with  recognition  and  appreciation  in  this  musical  family.  He 
became  the  young  woman's  teacher,  and  as  the  cliief  equerry 
Count  Westerliold  bad  to  accompany  the  Elector  on  his  visits  to 
IVIiinster,  where,  moreover,  he  owned  a  house,  there  is  a  tradition 
in  the  family  that  young  Beethoven  went  with  them  before  the 
young  lady's  marriage  in  1790.  She  it  was  with  whom  Beethoven 
was  now  in  love.  He  had  the  disease  violently,  nor  did  lu'  "let 
concealment,  like  a  worm  i'  tli'  bud,"  feed  upon  Iiis  cheek.  Forty 
years  afterward  Bernhard  Romberg  had  anecdotes  to  relate  of 
tliis  "Werther  love." 

The  strong  doubt  that  any  such  feeling  for  Eleonore  von 
Breuning  was  ever  cherished  by  Beethoven  has  already  been 
expressed.     The  letters  to  her  from  Vienna  printed  by  Wegeler, 

'In  one  of  tlip  Bcethovc-n  conversation  hooks,  anno  \Hifi,  may  l>f  read  in  Schindler's 
handwriting:   "Captain  v.  Greth's  address,  Coiuiuandant  in  Tcincsvar." 


122  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

and  other  correspondence  still  in  manuscript,  confirm  this  doubt 
by  their  general  tone;  but  that  a  really  warm  friendship  existed 
between  tliem  and  continued  down  to  the  close  of  his  life,  with  a 
single  interruption  just  before  he  left  Bonn,  of  the  cause  of 
which  nothing  is  known,  so  much  is  certain.  Among  the  few 
souvenirs  of  youthful  friendship  which  he  preserved  was  the 
following  compliment  to  him  on  his  twentieth  birthday,  sur- 
rounded by  a  wreath  of  flowers: 

ZU  B'S  GEBURTSTAG  VON  SEINER  SCHULERIN. 

Gliick  und  langes  Leben 

Wlinsch  ich  heute  dir; 
Aber  auch  daneben 

Wiinsch  ich  etwas  mir! 

Mir  in  Riicksicht  deiner 

Wiinsch  ich  deine  Huld, 
Dir  in  Riicksicht  meiner 

Nachsicht  und  Geduld. 

1790  Von  Ihrer  Freundin  u.  Schiilerin 

Lorchen  von  Breuning.^ 

Another  was  a  silhouette  of  Fraulein  von  Breuning.  Referring 
to  Beethoven's  allusion  to  this  in  a  letter  to  Wegeler  (1825)  the 
latter  says:  "In  two  evenings  the  silhouettes  of  all  the  members 
of  the  von  Breuning  family  and  more  intimate  friends  of  the  house, 
were  made  by  the  painter  Neesen  of  Bonn.  In  this  way  I  came 
into  the  possession  of  that  of  Beethoven  which  is  here  printed. 
Beethoven  was  probably  in  his  sixteenth  year  at  the  time"; — far 
more  probably  in  his  nineteenth,  the  reader  will  say. 

To  the  point  of  Beethoven's  susceptibility  to  the  tender 
passion  let  Wegeler  again  be  cited : 

The  truth  as  I  learned  to  know  it,  and  also  my  brother-in-law 
Stephan  von  Breuning,  Ferdinand  Ries,  and  Bernhard  Romberg,  is 
that  there  was  never  a  time  when  Beethoven  was  not  in  love,  and  that 
in  the  highest  degree.  These  passions,  for  the  Misses  d'Honrath  and 
Westerhold,  fell  in  his  transition  period  from  youth  to  manhood,  and 
left  impressions  as  little  deep  as  were  those  made  upon  the  beauties  who 
had  caused  them.  In  Vienna,  at  all  events  so  long  as  I  lived  there, 
Beethoven  was  always  in  love  and  occasionally  made  a  conquest  which 
would  have  been  very  difficult  if  not  impossible  for  many  an  Adonis. 

'From  the  Fischoff  Manuscript.  The  verbal  play  can  scarcely  be  given  in  English 
rhymed  couplets.  The  sentiment  is:  "Happiness  and  long  life  I  wish  you  to-day,  but 
something  do  I  crave  for  myself  from  you — your  regard,  your  forbearance  and  your 
patience." 


The  Suggestion  of  Haydn  as  Teacher  123 

A  review  of  some  of  the  last  pages  shows  that  for  the  most 
part  after  1789  the  life  of  Beethoven  was  a  busy  one,  but  that  the 
frequent  absences  of  the  Elector,  as  recorded  in  the  newspapers 
of  the  day,  left  many  a  period  of  considerable  duration  during 
which,  except  for  the  meetings  of  the  orchestra  for  rehearsal  and 
study,  he  had  full  command  of  his  time.  Thus  he  had  plenty  of 
leisure  hours  and  weeks  to  devote  to  composition,  to  instruction 
in  music,  for  social  intercourse,  for  visits  to  Kerpen  and  other 
neighboring  places,  for  the  indulgence  of  his  strong  propensity 
to  ramble  in  the  fields  and  among  the  mountains,  for  the  cultiva- 
tion in  that  beautiful  Rhine  region  of  his  warm  passion  for  nature. 

The  new  relations  to  his  father  and  brothers,  as  virtual  head 
of  the  family,  were  such  as  to  relieve  his  mind  from  anxiety  on 
their  account.  His  position  in  society,  too,  had  become  one  of 
which  he  might  justly  be  proud,  owing,  as  it  was,  to  no  adventi- 
tious circumstances,  but  simply  to  his  genius  and  high  personal 
character.  Of  illness  in  those  years  we  hear  nothing,  except 
.Wegeler's  remark  ("Notizen,"  11):  "^Vhen  the  famous  organist 
Abbe  Vogler  played  in  Bonn  (1790  or  1791)  I  sat  beside  Beethoven's 
sickbed";  a  mere  passing  attack,  or  Wegeler  would  have  vouch- 
safed it  a  more  extended  notice  in  his  subsequent  remarks  upon 
his  friend's  health.  Thus  these  were  evidently  happy  years,  in 
spite  of  certain  characteristic  and  gloomy  expressions  of  Beet- 
hoven in  letters  hereafter  to  be  given,  and  years  of  active  intel- 
lectual, artistic  and  moral  development. 

The  probability  that  in  July,  1792,  it  had  been  proposed  to 
Haydn  to  take  Beethoven  as  a  pupil  has  been  mentioned;  but 
it  is  pretty  certain  that  the  suggestion  did  not  come  from  the 
Elector,  who,  there  is  little  doubt,  was  in  Frankfort  at  the  corona- 
tion of  his  nephew  Emperor  Franz  (July  14)  at  the  time  of  Haydn's 
visit.  The  indefatigable  Karajan^  is  unable  to  determine  pre- 
cisely when  the  composer  left  London  or  reached  Vienna;  but 
it  is  known  he  was  in  the  former  city  after  July  1st  and  in  the 
latter  before  August  4th.  Whatever  arrangements  may  have  been 
made  between  the  pupil  and  master,  they  were  subject  to  the  will 
of  the  Elector,  and  here  Waldstein  may  well  have  exerted  himself 
to  his  j)rotege's  advantage.  At  all  events,  the  result  was  favor- 
able and  the  journey  determined  upon.  Perhaj)s,  had  Haydn 
found  Maximilian  in  Bonn,  he  miglit  have  taken  the  young  man 
witli  him;  as  it  was,  some  months  elapsed  before  his  j)upil  could 
follow. 

'"J.  Haydn  in  London,"  page  53. 


124  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

Some  little  space  must  be  devoted  to  the  question,  whence 
the  pecuniary  resources  for  so  expensive  a  journey  to  and  sojourn 
in  Vienna  were  derived.  The  good-hearted  Neefe  did  not  forget 
to  record  the  event  in  very  flattering  terms  when  he  wrote  next 
year  in  Spazier's  "Berliner  Musik-Zeitung" : 

In  November  of  last  year  Ludwig  van  Beethoven,  assistant  court 
organist  and  unquestionably  now  one  of  the  foremost  pianoforte  players, 
went  to  Vienna  at  the  expense  of  our  Elector  to  Haydn  in  order  to  perfect 
himself  under  his  direction  more  fully  in  the  art  of  composition. 

In  a  note  he  adds: 

Inasmuch  as  this  L.  v.  B.  according  to  several  reports  is  said  to  be 
making  great  progress  in  art  and  owes  a  part  of  his  education  to  Herr 
Neefe  in  Bonn,  to  whom  he  has  expressed  his  gratitude  in  writing,  it  may 
be  well  (Herr  N's  modesty  interposing  no  objection)  to  append  a  few 
words  here,  since,  moreover,  they  redound  to  the  credit  of  Herr  B.:  "I 
thank  you  for  your  counsel  very  often  given  me  in  the  course  of  my 
progress  in  my  divine  art.  If  ever  I  become  a  great  man,  yours  will  be 
some  of  the  credit.  This  will  give  you  the  greater  pleasure,  since  you 
can  remain  convinced,  etc." 

"At  the  expense  of  our  Elector" — so  says  Neefe;  so,  too, 
Fischenich  says  of  Beethoven  "whom  the  Elector  has  sent  to 
Haydn  in  Vienna."  Maximilian,  then,  had  determined  to  show 
favor  to  the  young  musician.  This  idea  is  confirmed  by  Beet- 
hoven's noting,  in  the  small  memorandum  book  previously  re- 
ferred to,  the  reception  soon  after  reaching  Vienna  of  25  ducats 
and  his  disappointment  that  the  sum  had  not  been  a  hundred. 
(A  receipt  for  his  salary,  25  th.  for  the  last  quarter  of  this  year, 
still  in  the  Diisseldorf  archives,  is  dated  October  22,  and  seems  at 
first  sight  to  prove  an  advance  per  favor;  but  many  others  in 
the  same  collection  show  that  payments  were  usually  made  about 
the  beginning  of  the  second  month  of  each  quarter.)  There  is 
also  a  paper  in  the  Diisseldorf  collection,  undated,  but  clearly  only 
a  year  or  two  after  Beethoven's  departure,  by  which  important 
changes  are  made  in  the  salaries  of  the  Elector's  musicians.  In 
this  list  Beethoven  does  not  appear  among  those  paid  from  the 
Landrentmeisterei  (i.e.,  the  revenues  of  the  state),  but  is  to  receive 
from  the  Chaioiiille  (privy  purse)  600  florins — a  sum  equivalent 
to  the  hundred  ducats  which  he  had  expected  in  vain.  It  is  true 
these  changes  were  never  carried  out,  but  the  paper  shows  the 
Elector's  intentions. 

With  such  facts  before  us,  how  is  Beethoven  to  be  relieved 
of  the  odium  of  ingratitude  to  his  benefactor.'^  By  the  circum- 
stance   that,  for  anything  that  appears,  the  good    intentions   of 


The  Limit  of  ]\L\ximilian's  Favor  125 

the  Elector — excepting  in  an  increase  of  salary  hereafter  to  be 
noted,  and  the  transmission  of  the  25  ducats — were  never  carried 
out;  and  the  young  musician,  after  receiving  his  quarterly  pay- 
ment two  or  three  times,  was  left  entirely  dependent  upon  his 
own  resources.  Maximilian's  justification  lies  in  the  sea  of  troubles 
by  which  he  was  so  soon  to  be  overwhelmed. 

That  the  100  ducats  were  not  advanced  to  Beethoven  before 
leaving  Bonn  is  easily  accounted  for.  In  October,  1792,  the  French 
revolutionary  armies  were  approaching  the  Rhine.  On  the  22nd 
they  entered  Mayence;  on  the  24th  and  25th  the  archives  and 
funds  of  the  court  at  Bonn  were  packed  up  and  conveyed  down 
the  Rhine.  On  the  31st  the  Elector,  accompanied  by  the  Prince 
of  Neuwied,  reached  Cleve  on  his  first  flight  from  his  capital. 
It  was  a  time  of  terror.  All  the  principal  towns  of  the  Rhine 
region,  Treves,  Coblenz,  etc.,  even  Cologne,  were  deserted  by  the 
higher  classes  of  the  inhabitants.  Perhaps  it  was  owing  to  this 
that  Beethoven  obtained  permission  to  leave  Bonn  for  Vienna 
just  then  instead  of  waiting  until  the  approaching  theatrical  and 
musical  season  had  passed.  But  with  the  treasury  removed  to 
Dusseldorf,  he  had  to  content  himself  with  just  suflBcient  funds 
to  pay  his  way  to  Vienna  and  the  promise  of  more  to  be  forwarded 
thither. 

Beethoven's  departure  from  Bonn  called  forth  lively  interest 
on  the  part  of  his  friends.  The  plan  did  not  contemplate  a  long 
sojourn  in  the  Austrian  capital;  it  was  his  purpose,  after  com- 
pleting his  studies  there,  to  return  to  Bonn  and  thence  to  go  forth 
on  artistic  tours.  ^  This  is  proved  by  an  autograph  album  dating 
from  his  last  days  in  Bonn,  which  some  of  his  intimate  friends, 
obviously  those  with  whom  he  was  wont  to  associate  at  the  Zehr- 
garten,  sent  with  him  on  his  way,  now  preserved  in  the  Imperial 
Library  at  Vienna.  The  majority  of  the  names  are  familiar  to 
us,  but  many  which  one  might  have  expected  to  find,  notably 
those  of  the  musicians  of  Bonn,  are  missing.  Eleonore  von 
Breuning's    contribution  was  a  ciuotation  from  Herder: 

Freundschaft,  mit  dem  Gutcn, 
Wiichset  wie  dcr  Aheudschatten, 
Bis  des  Lebens  Sonne  sinkt.^ 

Bonn,  den   1.   November  Ihre  wahre  Freundin  Eleonore 

1792  Breuning. 

'Neefc  rflatos  that  on  his  second  visit  to  E^ngland,  Haydn  had  contemplated  taking 
Beethoven  with  him. 

*"F"riendship.  with  that  which  is  good,  grows  like  the  evening  shadow  till  the  set- 
ting of  the  sun  of  life." 


126  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

Most  interesting  of  all  the  inscriptions  in  the  album,  however, 
is  that  of  Count  Waldstein,  which  was  first  published  by  Schindler 
(Vol.  I,  p.  18)  from  a  copy  procured  for  him  by  Aloys  Fuchs.  It 
proves  how  great  were  the  writer's  hopes,  how  strong  his  faith 
in  Beethoven: 

Dear  Beethoven!  You  are  going  to  Vienna  in  fulfillment  of  your 
long-frustrated  wishes.  The  Genius  of  Mozart  is  mourning  and  weeping 
over  the  death  of  her  pupil.  She  found  a  refuge  but  no  occupation  with 
the  inexhaustible  Haydn;  through  him  she  wishes  to  form  a  union  with 
another.  With  the  help  of  assiduous  labor  you  shall  receive  Mozart's 
spirit  from  Haydn's  hands. 

Your  true  friend 

Bonn,  October  29,  1792.  Waldstein. 

The  dates  in  the  album  prove  that  Beethoven  was  still  in 
Bonn  on  November  1,  1792,  and  indicate  that  it  was  the  last  day 
of  his  sojourn  there.  In  Duten's  "Journal  of  Travels,"  as  trans- 
lated and  augmented  by  John  Highmore,  Gent.  (London,  1782) 
— a  Baedeker's  or  Murray's  handbook  of  that  time^the  post- 
road  from  Bonn  to  Frankfort-on-the-Main  is  laid  down  as  passing 
along  the  Rhine  via  Andernach  to  Coblenz,  and  thence,  crossing 
the  river  at  Ehrenbreitstein,  via  Montabaur,  Limburg,  WUrges 
and  Konigstein; — corresponding  to  the  route  advertised  in  the 
"Intelligenzblatt"  a  few  years  later — time  25  hours,  43  minutes. 

This  was  the  route  taken  by  Beethoven  and  some  unknown 
companion.  Starting  from  Bonn  at  6  a.m.  they  would,  according 
to  Dutens  and  Highmore,  dine  at  Coblenz  about  3  p.m.  and  be 
in  Frankfort  about  7  next  morning. 

The  first  three  pages  of  the  memorandum  book  above  cited 
contain  a  record  of  the  expenses  of  this  journey  as  far  as  WUrges. 
One  of  the  items  is  this:  "Trinkgeld  (pourboire)  at  Coblenz  because 
the  fellow  drove  like  the  devil  right  through  the  Hessian  army  at 
the  risk  of  a  cudgelling,  one  small  thaler."  This  army  marched 
from  Coblenz  on  November  5;  but  on  the  same  day  a  French 
corps,  having  advanced  from  Mayence  beyond  Limburg,  took 
possession  of  Weilburg.  The  travellers  could  not,  therefore,  have 
journeyed  through  Limburg  later  than  the  night  of  the  3rd.  We 
conclude,  then,  that  it  was  between  November  1st  and  3rd  that 
Beethoven  bade  farewell  to  Bonn,  and  at  Ehrenbreitstein  saw 
Father  Rhine  for  the  last  time. 

The  temptation  is  too  strong  to  be  resisted  to  add  here  the 
contents  of  the  three  pages  of  the  memorandum  book  devoted  to 
this  journey,  and  the  reasonings — fancies,  if  the  reader  prefers 
the  term — drawn  from  them,  upon  which  is  founded  the  assertion 


The  Journey  to  Vienna  127 

that  Beethoven  had  a  travelling  companion.  This  is  probable 
in  itself,  and  is  confirmed  by,  first,  two  handwritings;  second, 
the  price  paid  for  post-horses  (thus,  the  first  entry  is  for  a  station 
and  a  quarter  at  50  Siiiber,  the  regular  price  being  one  florin,  or 
40  Stiiber  per  horse  for  a  single  passenger;  there  were,  therefore, 
two  horses  and  10  Stiiber  extra  per  post  for  the  second  passenger) ; 
third,  the  word  "us"  in  the  record  of  the  Trinkgeld  at  Coblenz; 
fourth,  the  accounts  cease  at  Wiirges,  but  they  would  naturally 
have  been  continued  to  Vienna  had  they  been  noted  down  by 
Beethoven  from  motives  of  economy;  fifth,  the  payment  of  2  fl. 
for  dinner  and  supper  is  certainly  more  than  a  young  man,  not 
overburdened  with  money,  would  in  those  days  have  spent  at 
the  post-house. 

AYe  may  suppose,  then,  that  the  companions  have  reached 
the  end  of  their  journey  in  common,  and  sit  down  to  compute  and 
divide  the  expenses.  Beethoven  hands  his  blank-book  to  his 
friend,  who  writes  thus: 

(Page  1)         From  Bonn  to  Remagen,  1  1-4  Stat,  at  50  Stbr. .  3  fl. 

From  Remag.  to  Andernach,  1  1-2  St 3.45 

Tip 45 

Tolls 45 

From  Andernach  to  Coblenz,  1  St 3. 

Tips  to  Andernach 50 

"     to  Coblenz 

Tolls  to  Andernach 42 

Tolls  to  Coblenz 

These  last  three  items  are  not  carried  out,  and  Beethoven 
now  takes  the  book  and  adds  the  items  of  the  "Tolls  to  Andernach" 
thus: 

Sinzig.  ...       7  St(uber)       Reinicke 5         St. 

Preissig...      10  St.  Norich 4  1-2  St. 

These  26  Stiiber,  changed  into  Kreutzers,  make  up  the  42  in 
the  column  above.     On  the  next  page  he  continues: 

(Page  2)         Coblenz,  tolls 30  x 

Rothehahncn  (Red  Cocks) 24  x 

Coblenz  to  Montebaur 2  rthlr.  and  1-2  d 

Tolls  for  Coblenz 48  x 

Tip  l>ec;iu,sc  the  fellow  drovt;  like  the  devil  rij^'ht 
thronj.,'li  the  Hessian  army  at  the  risk  of  a 

cudgelling one  small  thaler 

Ate  dinner 2  fl. 

Post  from  ^Montebaur  to  Limburg 3  fl.  57  x 

10  X  road  money 
15  X      " 


128  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

(Page  3)         Supper 2  fl. 

in  Limburg 12  Batzen 

Tips 14  X 

Grease  money 14  x 

Tip  for  postillion 1  fl. 

The  other  hand  now  writes: 

The  same  money  for  meals  and  tips,  besides  12  x 
road  money  to  Wirges. 

The  entries  of  the  second  and  third  pages  are  now  changed 
into  florin  currency  and  brought  together,  making  22  fl.  and  14  x; 
add  the  expenses  on  the  first  page  to  this  sum  and  we  have  a  total 
of  about  35  fl.  from  Bonn  to  Wiirges  for  two  young  men  travelling 
day  and  night,  and  no  doubt  as  economically  as  was  possible. 

The  next  entries  are  by  Beethoven's  hand  in  Vienna,  and  we 
are  left  to  imagine  his  arrival  in  Frankfort  and  his  departure  thence 
via  Nuremberg,  Regensburg,  Passau  and  Linz  in  the  public  post- 
coach  for  Vienna.  Proof  will  be  found  hereafter  that  he  was  in 
that  city  on  or  before  November  10th,  and  that  Schindler  (Vol.  I, 
p.  19)  therefore  confounds  this  journey  with  that  of  1787,  and 
is  all  wrong  when  he  says  "they  travelled  very  slowly  and  the 
money  which  they  had  taken  along  was  exhausted  before  they 
had  traversed  half  the  journey." 


Chapter  X 


Beethoven's  Creative  Activity  in  Bonn— An  Inquiry  into 
the  Genesis  of  Many  Compositions — The  Cantatas  on 
the  Death  of  Joseph  II  and  the  Elevation  of  Leopold 
II  —  Songs,  the  "Ritterballet,"  the  Octet  and  Other 
Chamber  Pieces. 

BUT  for  the  outbreak  of  the  French  Revolution,  Bonn  seems 
to  have  been  destined  to  become  a  brilliant  centre  of  learning 
and  art.  Owing  to  the  Elector's  taste  and  love  for  music,  that 
art  became — what  under  the  influence  of  Goethe  poetry  and  drama 
were  in  Weimar — the  artistic  expression  and  embodiment  of  the 
intellectual  character  of  the  time.  In  this  art,  among  musicians 
and  composers,  Beethoven,  endowed  with  a  genius  whose  orig- 
inality has  rarely  if  ever  been  surpassed,  "lived,  moved  and  had 
his  being."  His  official  superiors,  Lucchesi,  Reicha,  Neefe,  were 
indefatigable  in  their  labors  for  the  church,  the  stage  and  the 
concert-room;  his  companions,  Andreas  Perner,  Anton  Reicha, 
the  Rombergs,  were  prolific  in  all  the  forms  of  composition  from 
the  set  of  variations  to  even  the  opera  and  oratorios;  and  in  the 
performance  of  their  productions,  as  organist,  pianist  and  viola 
player,  he,  of  course,  assisted.  The  trophies  of  IVIiltiades  allowed 
no  rest  to  Themistocles.  Did  the  applause  bestowed  upon  the 
scenes,  duos,  trios,  quartets,  symphonies,  operas  of  his  friends 
awaken  no  spirit  of  emulation  in  him?  Was  he  contented  to  be 
the  mere  performer,  leaving  composition  to  others.'*  And  yet 
what  a  "beggarly  account"  is  the  list  of  compositions  known  to 
belong  to  this  period  of  his  life!^  Calling  to  mind  the  activity  of 
others,   particularly    jMozart,    developed    in   their   boyhood,    and 

'The  disroverips  made  after  Thayer  romplefed  and  printed  his  first  volume  in 
German  (1860),  largely  inspired  by  his  labors,  have  made  a  thorough  revision  of  this 
chapter  imperative.  In  all  that  follows  the  editor  has  aeeepted  the  statemont  of  farts 
made  by  Dr.  Deiters  in  his  revised  version  of  the  first  volume  published  in  11)01,  but,  in 
pursuance  of  his  plan  as  set  forth  in  the  introduction,  has  omitted  that  which  seemed  to 
him  more  or  less  incoDsequcntial,  as  well  as  that  which  belongs  ia  the  field  of  analysis 
and  criticism. 

I  129  1 


130  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

reflecting  on  the  incentives  which  were  offered  to  Beethoven 
in  Bonn,  one  may  well  marvel  at  the  small  number  and  the  small 
significance  of  the  compositions  which  preceded  the  Trios  Op.  1, 
with  which,  at  the  age  of  24  years,  he  first  presented  himself  to 
the  world  as  a  finished  artist.  But  a  change  has  come  over  the 
picture  in  the  progress  of  time.  Not  only  are  the  beginnings  of 
many  works  which  he  presented  to  the  world  at  a  late  day  as  the 
ripe  products  of  his  genius  to  be  traced  back  to  the  Bonn  period; 
fate  has  also  made  known  to  us  compositions  of  his  youth  which, 
for  a  long  time,  were  lost  in  whole  or  in  part,  and  which,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  three  great  pianoforte  quartets  of  1785,  not  only 
disclose  a  steady  progress,  but  also  discover  the  self-developed 
individual  artist  at  a  much  earlier  date  than  has  heretofore  been 
accepted.  Now  that  we  are  again  in  possession  of  the  cantatas 
and  other  fruits  of  the  Bonn  period,  or  have  learned  to  know  them 
better  as  such,  we  are  able  to  free  ourselves  from  the  old  notion 
which  presented  Beethoven  as  a  slowly  and  tardily  developed 
master. 

The  most  interesting  of  Beethoven's  compositions  in  the  Bonn 
period  are  unquestionably  the  cantatas  on  the  death  of  Joseph  II 
and  the  elevation  of  Leopold  II.  Beethoven  did  not  bring  them 
either  to  performance  or  publication;  they  were  dead  to  the  world. 
Nottebohm  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  manuscript  copies 
of  their  scores  were  announced  in  the  auction  catalogue  of  the 
library  of  Baron  de  Beine  in  April,  1813.  It  seems  probable  that 
Hummel  purchased  them  at  that  time;  at  any  rate,  after  his  death 
they  found  their  way  from  his  estate  into  the  second-hand  book- 
shop of  List  and  Francke  in  Leipsic,  where  they  were  bought  in  1884 
by  Armin  Fridmann  of  Vienna.  Dr.  Eduard  Hanslick  acquainted 
the  world  with  the  rediscovered  treasures  in  a  feuilleton  published 
in  the  "Neue  Freie  Presse"  newspaper  of  Vienna  on  May  13,  1884, 
and  the  funeral  cantata  was  performed  for  the  first  time  at  Vienna 
in  November,  1884,  and  at  Bonn  on  June  29,  1885.^  Both  cantatas 
were  then  included  in  the  Complete  Works  of  Beethoven  published 
by  Breitkopf  and  Hartel.  The  "Cantata  on  the  Death  of  Joseph 
the  Second,  composed  by  L.  van  Beethoven,"  was  written  between 
March  and  June,  1790.  The  Emperor  died  on  February  20th, 
and  the  news  of  his  death  reached  Bonn  on  February  24th.     The 

^There  have  been  a  few  performances  of  this  cantata  in  Austria  and  Germany 
since  its  publication.  It  was  given  at  a  concert  of  the  Beethoven  Association  in  New 
York  on  March  16,  1920,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Sam  Franko,  with  an  English  para- 
phrase of  the  text  by  the  Editor  of  this  biography,  designed  to  rid  it  of  its  local  applica- 
tion and  some  of  its  bombast  and  make  its  sentiment  applicable  to  any  heroic  emanci- 
pator. 


Cantata  on  the  Death  of  Joseph  II  131 

Lesegesellschaft  at  once  planned  a  memorial  celebration,  which 
took  place  on  March  19th.  At  a  meeting  held  to  make  prepara- 
tions for  the  function  on  February  28,  Prof.  Eulogius  Schneider 
(who  delivered  the  memorial  address)  expressed  the  wish  that 
a  musical  feature  be  incorporated  in  the  programme  and  said  that 
a  young  poet  had  that  day  placed  a  poem  in  his  hands  which  only 
needed  a  setting  from  one  of  the  excellent  musicians  who  were 
members  of  the  society  or  a  composer  from  elsewhere.  Beet- 
hoven's most  influential  friends,  at  the  head  of  them  Count  Wald- 
stein,  were  members  of  the  society.  Here,  therefore,  we  have 
beyond  doubt  the  story  of  how  Beethoven's  composition  originated. 
The  minutes  of  the  last  meeting  for  preparation,  held  on  March  17, 
state  that  "for  various  reasons  the  proposed  cantata  cannot  be 
performed."  Among  the  various  reasons  may  have  been  the 
excessive  difficulty  of  the  parts  for  the  wind-instruments  which, 
according  to  Wegeler,  frustrated  a  projected  performance  at  Mer- 
gentheim;  though  it  is  also  possible  that  Beethoven,  who  was 
notoriously  a  slow  worker,  was  unable  to  complete  the  music  in 
the  short  time  which  was  at  his  disposal.  The  text  of  the  cantata 
was  written  by  Severin  Anton  Averdonk,  son  of  an  employee 
of  the  electoral  Bureau  of  Accounts,  and  brother  of  the  court 
singer  Johanna  Helene  Averdonk,  who,  in  her  youth,  was  for  a 
space  a  pupil  of  Johann  van  Beethoven.  Beethoven  set  the  young 
pwet's  ode  for  solo  voice,  chorus  and  orchestra  without  trumpets 
and  drums.  Brahms,  on  playing  through  the  score,  remarked: 
**It  is  Beethoven  through  and  through.  Even  if  there  were  no 
name  on  the  title-page  none  other  than  that  of  Beethoven  could 
be  conjectured."  The  same  tiling  may  be  said  of  the  "Cantata 
on  the  Elevation  of  Leopold  II  to  the  Imperial  Dignity,  composed 
by  L.  V.  Beethoven."  Leopold's  election  as  Roman  Emperor 
took  place  on  September  30,  1790,  his  coronation  on  October  9, 
when  Elector  Max  Franz  was  present  at  Frankfort.  This  gives 
us  a  hint  as  to  the  date  of  the  composition.  Whether  or  not  the 
Elector  conmiissioned  it  cannot  be  said.  Averdonk  was  again 
the  poet.  The  two  cantatas  mark  the  culmination  of  Beethoven's 
creative  labors  in  Bonn;  they  show  his  artistic  individuality 
ripened  and  a  sovereign  command  of  all  the  elements  wliich  Bonn 
was  able  to  teach  him  from  a  technical  point  of  view. 

Two  airs  for  bass  voice  with  orchestral  accompaniment  are, 
to  judge  by  tlie  handwriting,  also  to  be  ascribed  to  al)ont  1790. 
The  first  is  entitled  '"Priifiing  des  Kiissens'  ('The  Test  of  Kissing'), 
V.  L.  v.  Beethowen."  The  use  of  the  "w"  instead  of  the  "v"  in  the 
spelling  of  the  name  points  to  an  early  period  for  the  composition. 


132  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

The  text  of  the  second  bears  the  title,  "Mit  Madeln  sich  vertragen," 
and  was  taken  by  Beethoven  from  the  original  version  of  Goethe's 
"Claudine  von  Villa  Bella."  Paper,  handwriting  and  the  spelling 
of  the  name  of  the  composer  indicate  the  same  period  as  the  first 
air.  The  two  compositions  remained  unknown  a  long  time,  but 
are  now  to  be  had  in  the  Supplement  to  the  Complete  Works  pub- 
lished  by  Breitkopf  and   Hartel. 

To  these  airs  must  be  added  a  considerable  number  of  songs 
as  fruits  of  Beethoven's  creative  labors  in  Bonn.  The  first  of 
these,  *Tch,  der  mit  flatterndem  Sinn,"  was  made  known  by  pub- 
lication in  the  Complete  Works.  A  sketch  found  among  sketches 
for  the  variations  on  "Se  vuol  ballare,"  led  Nottebohm  to  set  down 
1792  as  the  year  of  its  origin.  Of  the  songs  grouped  and  published 
as  Op.  52  the  second,  "Feuerfarbe,"  belongs  to  the  period  of  tran- 
sition from  Bonn  to  Vienna.  On  January  26,  1793,  Fischenich 
WTote  to  Charlotte  von  Schiller:  "I  am  enclosing  with  this  a  set- 
ting of  the  'Feuerfarbe'  on  which  I  should  like  to  have  your  opinion. 
It  is  by  a  young  man  of  this  place  whose  musical  talents  are  univer- 
sally praised  and  whom  the  Elector  has  sent  to  Haydn  in  Vienna. 
He  proposes  also  to  compose  Schiller's  'Freude,'  and  indeed  strophe 
by  strophe.  Ordinarily  he  does  not  trouble  himself  with  such  trifles 
as  the  enclosed,  which  he  wrote  at  the  request  of  a  lady."  From 
this  it  is  fair  to  conclude  that  the  song  was  finished  before  Beet- 
hoven's departure  from  Bonn.  Later  he  wrote  a  new  postlude, 
which  is  found  among  motivi  for  the  Octet  and  the  Trio  in  C  minor. 
Of  the  other  songs  in  Op.  52  the  origin  of  several  may  be  set  down 
as  falling  in  the  Bonn  period.  That  of  the  first,  "Urian's  Reise 
um  die  Welt,"  we  have  already  seen.  Whether  or  not  these  songs, 
which  met  with  severe  criticism  in  comparison  with  other  greater 
works  of  Beethoven,  were  published  without  Beethoven's  knowl- 
edge, is  doubtful.  1  Probability  places  the  following  songs  in  the 
period  of  transition,  or  just  before  it:  "An  Minna,"  sketched 
on  a  page  with  "Feuerfarbe,"  and  other  works  written  out  in  the 
early  days  of  the  Vienna  period;  a  drinking-song,  "to  be  sung  at 
parting,"  "Erhebt  das  Glas  mit  froher  Hand,"  to  judge  by  the 
handwriting,  an  early  work,  presumably  circa  1787;  "Elegie  auf 
den  Tod  eines  Pudels";  "Die  Klage,"  to  be  placed  in  1790,  inas- 
much  as  the  original  manuscript  form    appears    simultaneously 

^See  Vol.  II,  p.  210,  of  the  first  German  edition  of  this  work.  Ries  says,  on  page 
124  of  the  "Notizen,"  apropos  of  the  posthumous  manuscripts:  "All  such  trifles  and 
things  which  he  never  meant  to  publish,  as  not  considering  them  worthy  of  his  name, 
were  secretly  brought  into  the  world  by  his  brothers.  Such  were  the  songs  published 
when  he  had  attained  the  highest  degree  of  fame,  composed  years  before  at  Bonn, 
previous  to  his  departure  for  Vienna;  and  in  like  manner  other  trifles,  written  for 
albums,  etc.,  were  secretly  taken  from  him  and  published." 


Other  Works  of  the  Bonn  Period  133 

with  sketches  of  the  funeral  cantata;  "Wer  ist  ein  freier  Mann?", 
whose  original  autograph  in  the  British  Museum  bears  the  inscrip- 
tion "ipse  fecit  L.  v.  Beethoven,"  and  must  be  placed  not  later 
than  1790,  while  a  revised  form  is  probably  a  product  of  1795,  and 
to  a  third  Wegeler  appended  a  different  text,  "Was  ist  des  Maurer's 
Ziel?"  published  in  1806;  the  "Punschlied"  may  be  a  trifle  older; 
the  autograph  of  "Man  strebt  die  Flamme  zu  verhehlen,"  in  the 
possession  of  the  Gesellschaft  der  Musikfreunde,  which  has  been 
placed  in  the  year  1792,  bears  in  Beethoven's  handwriting  the 
words  "pour  Madame  Weissenthurn  par  Louis  van  Beethoven." 
Madame  Weissenthurn  was  a  writer  and  actress,  and  from  1789 
a  member  of  the  company  of  the  Burgtheater  in  Vienna,  and  it  is 
more  than  likely  that  Beethoven  did  not  get  acquainted  with  her 
till  he  went  to  Vienna,  although  she  was  born  on  the  Rhine. 

Turn  we  now  to  the  instrumental  works  which  date  back  to 
the  Bonn  period.  The  beginning  is  made  with  the  work  which, 
in  a  manner,  first  brought  Beethoven  into  close  relationship  with 
the  stage — the  "Ritterballet,"  produced  by  the  nobility  on  Carni- 
val Sunday,  March  6,  1791,  and  which,  consequently,  cannot  have 
been  composed  long  before,  say  in  1790  or  1791.  The  ballet  was 
designed  by  Count  Waldstein  in  connection  with  Habich,  a 
dancing-master  from  Aix-la-Chapelle.  Of  the  contents  of  the  piece 
we  know  nothing  more  than  is  contained  in  the  report  from  Bonn 
printed  three  chapters  back,  namely,  that  it  illustrated  the  pre- 
dilection of  the  ancient  Germans  for  war,  the  chase,  love  and 
drinking;  the  music,  being  without  words,  can  give  us  no  further 
help.  It  consists  of  eight  short  numbers,  designed  to  accompany 
the  pantomime:  1,  March;  2,  German  Song;^  3,  Hunting  Song; 
4,  Romance;  5,  War  Song;  6,  Drinking  Song;  7,  German  Dance; 
8,  Coda.  It  was  intended  that  the  music  should  be  accepted  as 
Waldstein's  and,   tlierefore,   Beethoven  never  published   it. 

It  seems  as  if  the  last  year  of  Beethoven's  sojourn  in  Bonn 
was  especially  influential  in  the  development  of  his  artistic  char- 
acter and  ability.  Of  the  works  of  1792,  besides  trifles,  there 
were  two  of  larger  dimensions  which,  if  we  were  not  better  advised, 
would  unhesitatingly  be  placed  in  the  riper  Vienna  period.  The 
autograph  of  the  Octet  for  wind-instruments,  pul)lished  after  tlie 
comjKjser's  death  and  designated  at  a  lat(;r  dale  as  Op.  103,  bears 
the  iiisfTij)tion  "Parthia  in  Es"  (above  this,  "dans  nn  Concert"), 
"Due  Ol>oe,  Due  Clarinelti,  Due  Corni,  Due  Fagotti  di  L.  v. 
Beethoven."     From  a  sketch  which  precedes  suggestions  for  the 

'The  subject  of  the  German  Song  was  used  by  Beethoven  later  in  a  sonata. 


134  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

song  "Feuerfarbe,"  Nottebohm  concludes  that  the  Octet  was 
composed  in  1792,  or,  at  the  latest  in  1793.  In  the  latter  case  it 
would  be  a  Viennese  product.  It  is  improbable,  however,  that 
Beethoven  found  either  incentive  or  occasion  soon  after  reaching 
Vienna  to  write  a  piece  of  this  character,  and  it  is  significant  that 
in  his  later  years  he  never  returned  to  a  combination  of  eight  in- 
struments. But  there  was  an  incentive  in  Bonn  in  the  form  of 
the  excellent  dinner-music  of  the  Elector  described  by  Chaplain 
Junker,  which  was  performed  by  two  oboes,  two  clarinets,  two 
horns  and  two  bassoons.  It  may  be  set  down  as  a  fruit  of  1792, 
his  last  year  in  Bonn.  For  the  same  combination  of  instruments, 
Beethoven  also  composed  a  Rondino  in  E-flat,  published  in  1829 
by  Diabelli,  probably  from  the  posthumous  manuscript.  From 
the  autograph  Nottebohm  argued  that  it  was  written  in  Bonn, 
and  what  has  been  said  of  the  origin  of  the  Octet  applies  also  to 
the  Rondino.  The  autograph  of  a  little  duet  in  G  for  two  flutes 
bears  the  inscription:  "For  Friend  Degenharth  by  L.  v.  Beethoven. 
August   23rd,   1792,   midnight." 

We  are  lifted  to  a  higher  plane  again  by  a  work  which  in 
invention  and  construction  surpasses  the  compositions  already 
mentioned  and  still  to  be  mentioned  in  the  present  category,  and 
discloses  the  fully  developed  Beethoven  as  we  know  him — the 
Trio  in  E-flat,  for  violin,  viola  and  violoncello.  Op.  3.  Its  publi- 
cation was  announced  by  Artaria  in  February,  1797.  According 
to  Wegeler,  Beethoven  was  commissioned  by  Count  Appony  in 
1795  to  write  a  quartet.  He  made  two  efforts,  but  produced  first 
a  Trio  (Op.  3),  and  then  a  Quintet  (Op.  4).  We  know  better  the 
origin  of  the  latter  work  now;  but  Wegeler  is  also  mistaken  about 
the  origin  of  the  Trio;  it  was  a  Bonn  product.  Here  the  proof: 
At  the  general  flight  from  Bonn,  whether  the  one  at  the  end 
of  October  or  that  of  December  15,  1793,  the  Elector  ordered  his 
chaplain,  Abbe  Clemens  Dobbeler,  to  accompany  an  English  lady, 
the  Honourable  Mrs.  Bowater,  to  Hamburg.  "While  there,"  says 
William  Gardiner  in  his  "Music  and  Friends,"  III,  142,  "he  was 
declared  an  emigrant  and  his  property  was  seized.  Luckily  he 
placed  some  money  in  our  (English)  government  funds,  and  his 
only  alternative  was  to  proceed  to  England."  Dobbeler  accom- 
panied Mrs.  Bowater  to  Leicester.     She, 

having  lived  much  in  Germany,  had  acquired  a  fine  taste  in  music;  and 
as  the  Abbe  was  a  very  fine  performer  on  the  violin,  music  was  essential 
to  fill  up  this  irksome  period  (while  Mrs.  Bowater  lived  in  lodgings 
before  moving  into  old  Dolby  Hall).  My  company  was  sought  with  that 
of  two  of  my  friends  to  make  up  occasionally  an  instrumental  quartett. 


The  Trio  for  Strings,  Op.  3  135 

.  .  .  Our  music  consisted  of  the  Quartetts  of  Haydn,  Boccherini, 
and  Wranizky.  The  Abbe,  who  never  travelled  without  his  violin, 
had  luckily  put  into  his  fiddle-case  a  Trio  composed  by  Beethoven,  just 
before  he  set  off,  which  thus,  in  the  year  1793,  found  its  way  to  Leicester. 
This  composition,  so  different  from  anything  I  had  ever  heard,  awakened 

in  me  a  new  sense,  a  new  delight  in  the  science  of  sounds When 

I  went  to  town  (London)  I  enquired  for  the  works  of  this  author,  but 
could  learn  nothing  more  than  that  he  was  considered  a  madman  and 
that  his  music  was  like  himself.  However,  I  had  a  friend  in  Hamburg 
through  whom,  although  the  war  was  raging  at  the  time,  I  occasionally 
obtained  some  of  these  inestimable  treasures. 

WTiat  trio  was  this  so  praised  by  the  enthusiastic  Englishman? 
On  the  last  page  but  one  of  Gardiner's  "Italy,  her  Music,  Arts 
and  People"  he  writes,  speaking  of  his  return  down  the  Rhine: 

Recently  we  arrived  at  Bonn,  the  birthplace  of  Beethoven.  About 
the  year  1786,  my  friend  the  Abbe  Dobler,  chaplain  to  the  Elector  of 
Cologne,  first  noticed  this  curly,  blackheaded  boy,  the  son  of  a  tenor 
singer  in  the  cathedral.  Through  the  Abbe  I  became  acquainted  with 
the  first  production  of  this  wonderful  composer.  How  great  was  my 
surprise  in  playing  the  viola  part  to  his  Trio  in  E-flat,  so  unlike  anything 
I  had  ever  heard.  It  was  a  new  sense  to  me,  an  intellectual  pleasure 
which  I  had  never  received  from  sounds. 

Again,  in  a  letter  to  Beethoven,  Gardiner  says,  "Your  Trio 
in  E-flat  (for  violin,  viola  and  bass").  To  all  but  the  blind  this 
narrative  pours  a  flood  of  light  upon  the  whole  question.^ 

There  come  up  now  for  consideration  the  compositions  in 
which  Beethoven's  principal  instrument,  the  pianoforte,  is  era- 
ployed.  They  carry  us  back  a  space,  and  to  the  earliest  examples 
we  add  a  related  composition  for  violin. 

It  was  a  part  of  Beethoven's  official  duty  to  play  pianoforte 
before  tlie  Elector,  and  it  may  therefore  easily  be  imagined  that 
after  his  first  boyish  attempt  in  1784,  he  would  conliiuie  to  com- 
pose   concertos   and   parts   of   concertos   for  the    pianoforte    and 

'The  Trio  in  E-flat  was  not  published  until  1797.  It  is  therefore  obvious  that  the 
music  whi'h  Al)be  Dobbf.'i(;r  carried  with  liira  to  Enghind  must  Iiave  been  a  iiiaiiuscript 
copy.  Dr.  Dciters,  accei)tinf;  without  attempt  at  coiilra<ii(tion  Tliaycr's  |)roof  of  its 
origin  at  a  period  not  later  than  17!)^,  neverllieiess  puts  forth  the  conjecture  tiiat  tiie 
work  may  have  been  revised  and  reconstructed  at  a  later  date  in  Vienna,  as  was  the  case 
with  other  compositions.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed,  he  urges,  that  Beethoven,  enjoying 
the  celebrity  that  he  did  in  1707,  would  have  [)ublished  then  with  an  op-;s  number  a 
production  of  his  youth  without  first  subjecting  it  to  a  thorough  revision.  Moreover, 
his  earlier  chamber  compositions  were  in  three  movements,  tiie  minuet  having  been 
added  for  the  first  time  in  the  C)ctet.  It  was  scarcely  conceivable  that  he  should  have 
simultaneously  conceived  a  work  in  six  movements  unless  he  ha<l  had  a  Mo7,art  modil  in 
his  mind.  Hut  wliy  not.""  We  have  seen  from  the  story  of  the  music  admired  at  the 
court  of  V'iennafrom  which  the  Elector  came  that  the  serenade  form  was  in  favor  th<;re. 
The  Sonata  for  Pianoforte  and  Violoncello  which  Artaria  announced  in  May,  18U7,  is  an 
arrangement  of  this  Trio,  but  it  was  not  made  by  Beethoven. 


136  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

orchestra,  and  not  wait  until  1795,  when  he  publicly  performed 
the  "entirely  new"  concerto  in  B-flat.  Quite  recently  the  world 
has  learned  of  a  first  movement  for  a  pianoforte  concerto  in  D,  con- 
cerning which  the  first  report  was  made  by  Guido  Adler  in  1888, 
and  which  was  performed  in  Vienna  on  April  7,  1889,  and  then 
incorporated,  as  edited  by  Adler,  in  the  supplement  to  the  Com- 
plete Works.  It  was  discovered  in  copy,  solo  and  orchestra  parts, 
in  the  possession  of  Joseph  Bezeczny,  the  head  of  an  educational 
institution  for  the  blind  in  Prague,  and  the  handwriting  is  his. 
Immediately  after  its  first  performance  its  authenticity  was  ques- 
tioned by  Dr.  Paumgartner,  who  called  attention  to  its  Mozartian 
cliaracteristics,  but  failed  to  advance  any  reason  for  doubting  the 
testimony  of  so  thorough  a  musical  scholar  as  Adler.  The  latter 
had  emphasized  the  resemblances  to  Mozart's  works,  which,  indeed, 
are  too  obvious  to  escape  attention;  but  for  a  long  time  after  1785, 
especially  after  Beethoven  met  Mozart  personally  in  Vienna,  the 
former  was  completely  in  the  latter 's  thrall,  and  that  his  music 
should  occasionally  be  reminiscent  of  his  model  is  not  at  all 
singular.  Such  reminiscences  are  to  be  found  in  the  quartets  of 
1785  and  the  trio  for  pianoforte  and  wind-instruments.  It  is 
safe  to  assume  that  the  movement  was  written,  as  Adler  sug- 
gests, in  the  period  1788-1793,  perhaps  before  rather  than  after 
1790,  and  that  Beethoven  attached  little  value  to  it  and  laid  it 
permanently  aside. 

A  companion-piece  to  this  movement  is  the  fragment  of  a 
Concerto  for  Violin  in  C  major,  of  which  the  autograph  is  in  the 
archives  of  the  Gesellschaft  der  Musikfreunde  in  Vienna,  the  hand- 
writing of  which  indicates  that  it  belongs  to  the  early  Vienna  if 
not  the  Bonn  period.  That  it  is  a  first  transcription  is  indicated 
by  the  fact  that  there  are  many  erasures  and  corrections.  The 
fragment  contains  259  measures,  embracing  the  orchestral  intro- 
duction, the  first  solo  passage,  the  second  tutti  and  the  beginning 
of  the  free  fantasia  for  the  solo  instrument;  it  ends  with  the  intro- 
duction of  a  new  transition  motif  which  leads  to  the  conjecture 
that  the  movement  was  finished  and  that  the  missing  portion  has 
been  lost.^ 

A  Trio  in  E-flat  for  Pianoforte,  Violin  and  Violoncello,  found 
among  Beethoven's  posthumous  papers,  was  published  in  1836 
by  Dunst  in  Frankfort-on-the-Main.  On  the  original  publica- 
tion its  authenticity  was  certified  to  by  Diabelli,  Czerny  and 
Ferdinand  Ries,  and  it  was  stated  that  the  original  manuscript 

^Josef  Hellmesberger,  of  Vienna,  completed  the  movement,  utilizing  the  existing 
motivi,  and  the  piece  was  published  by  Friedrich  Schreiber. 


Other  Works  Composed  in  Bonn  137 

was  in  the  possession  of  Schindler;  Wegeler  verified  the  hand- 
writing as  that  of  Beethoven.  Schindler  cites  Beethoven's  utter- 
ance that  he  had  written  the  work  at  the  age  of  15  years  and  de- 
scribed it  as  one  of  his  "highest  strivings  in  the  free  style  of  compo- 
sition," which  was  either  a  misunderstanding  of  Schindler's  or  a 
bit  of  irony  on  the  part  of  Beethoven.  Nearer  the  truth,  at  any 
rate,  is  a  remark  in  Graffer's  written  catalogue  of  Beethoven's 
works:  "Composed  anno  1791,  and  originally  intended  for  the 
three  trios,  Op.  1,  but  omitted  as  too  weak  by  Beethoven." 
Whether  or  not  this  observation  rests  on  an  authentic  source  is 
not  stated.  1 

Whether  or  not  the  Pianoforte  Trios,  Op.  1,  were  composed 
in  Bonn  may  be  left  without  discussion  here,  since  we  shall  be 
obliged  to  recur  to  the  subject  later.  The  facts  about  them  that 
have  been  determined  beyond  controversy  are,  that  they  were 
published  in  1795;  were  not  ready  in  their  final  shape  in  1794; 
and  were  already  played  in  the  presence  of  Haydn  in  1793. 

The  Variations  in  E-flat  for  Pianoforte,  Violin  and  Violoncello, 
which  were  published  in  1804  by  Hofmeister  in  Leipsic  as  Op.  44, 
apparently  belong  to  the  last  year  of  Beethoven's  life  in  Bonn. 
Nottebohm  found  a  sketch  of  the  work  alongside  one  of  the  song 
"Feuerfarbe,"  which  fact  points  to  the  year  1792;  Beethoven  in 
a  letter  to  the  publisher  appears  not  to  have  laid  particular  store 
by  it,  a  circumstance  easily  understood  in  view  of  the  great  works 
which  had  followed  the  youthful  effort. 

Besides  these  compositions,  a  Trio  for  Pianoforte,  Flute  and 
Bassoon,-  concerning  which  all  the  information  which  we  have 
came  from  the  catalogue  of  Beethoven's  effects  sold  at  auction, 
has  recently  been  published.  It  is  No.  179  in  the  catalogue,  where 
it  is  described  as  a  composition  of  the  Bonn  period.  On  the  auto- 
graph, preserved  in  Berlin,  the  title,  placed  at  the  end,  is  "Trio 
concertante  a  clavicembalo,  flauto,  fagotto,  composto  da  Ludovico 
van  Beethoven  organista  di  S.  S.  (illegil)le  word),  cologne."  The 
designation  of  the  composer  as  organist,  etc.,  fixes  the  place  of 
its  origin,  and  the  handwriting  indicates  an  early  date. 

'Dr.  Dfiters  points  out  as  charactorislios  of  this  Trio  which  indicate  that  it  was 
not  writtf-n  hy  Iloftliovon  at  the  age  of  15.  hut  lon(?  aft<T  the-  [)iiinoforle  quartets,  the 
froeriom  in  invention  >\n<\  (ifvclopmenl.  tin-  lar(,'e  dirnonsions  of  tlic;  free  fantasia  portion, 
its  almost  itiiju-reeptihic  return  to  the  [)rin(i|)al  tlieine,  anil  tlw  introduction  of  a  coda  in 
the  first  movement.  Mntiri  from  this  movement  recur  in  later  works,  for  instance,  the 
Sonata  in  ¥  minor.  Op.  2,  and  the  I'ianofrjrle  Concerto  in  C  major.  Beethoven  seems 
to  have  used  the  designation  "Scherzo"  in  it  for  the  first  time. 

*The  combination  of  instruments  in  this  piece  Icfl  Dr.  Deiters  to  ronjectuie  that 
it  may  have  been  composed  for  the  family  Vf)n  Westerhold.  Count  vou  Westerhold 
I)layed  the  bassoon,  his  son  the  flute,  and  his  daughter  the  pianoforte. 


138  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

Among  the  papers  found  in  Beethoven's  apartments  after 
his  death,  was  the  manuscript  of  a  Sonata  in  B-flat  for  Pianoforte 
and  Fhite,  which  passed  into  the  hands  of  Artaria.  It  is  not  in 
Beethoven's  handwriting,  and  the  little  evidence  of  its  authenticity 
is  not  convincing.^ 

It  is  more  than  likely  that  the  Variations  for  Pianoforte  and 
Violin  on  Mozart's  "Se  vuol  ballare"  ought  to  be  assigned  to  the 
latter  part  of  the  Bonn  period.  They  were  published  in  July,  1793, 
with  a  dedication  to  Eleonore  von  Breuning,  to  whom  Beethoven 
sent  the  composition  with  a  letter  dated  November  2,  1793. ^  The 
dedication  leads  to  the  presumption  that  the  work  was  carried 
to  Vienna  in  a  finished  state  and  there  subjected  to  only  the  final 
polish.  The  postscript  to  the  letter  to  Fraulein  von  Breuning 
betrays  the  reason  for  the  hurried  publication:  Beethoven  wanted 
to  checkmate  certain  Viennese  pianists  whom  he  had  detected 
copying  peculiarities  of  his  playing  in  improvisation  which  he 
suspected  they  would  publish  as  their  own  devices. 

Besides  the  pieces  already  mentioned,  Beethoven  wrote  the 
following  works  for  pianofore  in  Bonn: 

1.  A  Prelude  in  F  minor.^  According  to  a  remark  on  a  printed 
copy  shown  to  be  authentic,  Beethoven  wrote  it  when  he  was  15 
year  old,  that  is,  in  1786  or,  the  question  of  his  age  not  being 
determined  at  the  time,  1787.  The  prelude  is,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  a  fruit  of  his  studies  in  the  art  of  imitation;  and  the  initiative, 
probably,  came  from  Bach's  Preludes. 

2.  Two  Preludes  through  the  Twelve  Major  Keys  for  Piano- 
forte or  Organ;  published  by  Hoffmeister  in  1803  as  Op.  39. 
Obviously  exercises  written  for  Neefe  while  he  was  Beethoven's 
teacher  in  composition. 

3.  Variations  on  the  arietta  "Venni  Amore,"  by  Righini, 
in  D  major — "Venni  Amore,"  not  "Vieni";  the  arietta  begins: 
"Venni  Amore  nel  tuo  regno,  ma  compagno  del  Timor."  Righini 
gave    his    melody    a    number    of    vocal    variations.      Beethoven 

'Dr.  Deiters  points  out  that  Thayer,  in  transcribing  the  themes  of  this  Trio,  over- 
looked a  Largo,  which  made  the  movements  number  four  instead  of  three  as  given  in  the 
Chronological  Catalogue.  The  existence  of  four  movements  added  to  the  doubtful 
authenticity  in  the  eyes  of  the  German  editor. 

^This  letter  will  appear  later.  The  Variations  are  published  in  Series  12,  No.  103, 
of  the  Complete  Edition.  In  a  catalogue  of  Breitkopf  and  Hartel  of  179.3,  they  are  desig- 
nated Op.  1 ;  also  in  a  catalogue  in  1794  of  Geyl  and  Hedler's.  It  is  plain  from  a  passage 
in  the  letter  to  Eleonore  von  Breuning  ("I  never  would  have  written  it  in  this  way,"  etc.) 
that  the  Coda  did  not  receive  its  definitive  form  until  just  before  publication.  Thayer 
was  of  the  opinion  when  he  wrote  Vol.  I  of  this  work,  that  it  had  been  appended  in 
Vienna. 

^It  was  published  in  1805  by  the  Kunst-  und  Industriecomptoir  of  Vienna.  Com- 
plete Works,  Series  18,  No.  195;  cf.  Nottebohm's  "Beethoven's  Studien,"  p.  6. 


Pianoforte  Variations  and  a  Sonata  139 

republished  his  in  Vienna  in  1801  through  Traeg  (Complete  Works, 
Series  17,  No.  178);  composed  about  1790  and  published  in 
Mannheim  in  1791.  They  were  inscribed  to  Countess  Hatzfeld 
{nee  Countess  de  Girodin),  who  has  been  praised  in  this  book  as 
an  eminent  pianist.  The  story  of  the  encounter  between  Beetho- 
ven and  Sterkel  in  which  these  variations  figure  has  also  been 
told.  Beethoven  had  a  good  opinion  of  them;  Czerny  told  Otto 
Jahn  that  he  had  brought  them  with  him  to  Vienna  and  used  them 
to  "introduce"  himself. 

Two  books  of  variations  are  to  be  adjudged  to  the  Bonn 
period  because  of  their  place  of  publication  and  other  biographical 
considerations.  They  are  the  Variations  in  A  major  on  a  theme 
from  Dittersdorf's  opera  "Das  rothe  Kappchen"  ("Es  war  einmal 
ein  alter  Mann")  and  the  Variations  for  four  hands  on  a  theme  by 
Count  Waldstein.  Both  sets  were  published  by  Simrock  in  Bonn, 
the  first  of  Beethoven's  compositions  published  in  his  native  town. 
They  were  not  published  until  1794,  but  according  to  a  letter  to 
Simrock,  dated  August  2,  1794,  the  latter  had  received  the  first  set 
a  considerable  time  before,  and  Beethoven  had  held  back  the 
corrections  while  the  other  was  already  printed.  Beethoven's 
intimate  association  with  Waldstein  in  Bonn  is  a  familiar  story, 
but  we  hear  nothing  of  it  in  the  early  Viennese  days.  The  varia- 
tions on  a  theme  of  his  own  seem  likely  to  have  been  the  product 
of  a  wish  expressed  by  the  Count.  That  Beethoven  seldom  wrote 
for  four  hands,  and  certainly  not  without  a  special  reason,  is  an 
accepted  fact.^ 

Another  presumably  Bonnian  product  which  has  come  down 
to  us  only  as  a  fragment  is  the  Sonata  in  C  major  for  Pianoforte, 

'In  the  Fall  of  1919,  announcement  was  made  by  tlie  newspapers  that  Freneh 
invcstif^ators  had  discovered  in  llic  Hrilish  Mnseiiin  fowr  thitherto  unknown  iJi'clliovcn 
autof^raplis  ariKjngst  inanuscri[)ts  fnirchascd  {nun  Julian  Marshall.  'J'iie  c<lilor  of  the 
second  edition  of  Kochel's  "Thematic  (Jatalo;;ii(!  of  Mozart's  Works"  had  seen  the 
manuscripts  and  included  two  of  thi-m  as  authentic  Mozart  compositions  and  two  as 
probably  such  in  the  sui)f)lenu'nt  to  that  work.  They  were  a  Trio  in  I),  for  pianoforte, 
violin  and  violoncello  (two  pa/^cs  of  the  first  Allegro  missiuf^,  listed  as  K,  No.  fyin); 
three  pieces  for  pianoforte,  four  hands,  a  (Idroltc  in  V,  an  Allnjro  in  15-flat,  aiicl  a  Murna 
lugubre  in  (J  minor  (six  measures^.  No.  71a;  a  Hondo  in  H-flat,  to  wiiich  the  ediloras.si^nc<| 
the  year  1786,  No.  511a;  and  a  Minuet  in  C,  for  orchestra,  the  first  of  a  set  composed  by 
Beethoven  in  179.5,  which  M.  Chantavoinc  published  in  1903  under  the  title  "I )ouzc 
Menucts  inedits  i)our  Orchestre.  L.  van  Heethoven.  (Euvnrs  i)oslhumc.s.  Au  Mene- 
strel."  Tln-odore  Wyzcwa  and  Georges  de  St.  Foix  made  a  si  udy  of  the  m.inuscri[)ts  and 
discussed  them  in  "L<;  (Juide  Musical"  of  December,  1919,  .January  and  I'rbruar.N,  I'JH). 
They  were  then  set  down  as  "pseudo-Mozarts."  .M.  (Charles  Mailirrbe  <lc(lared  that 
none  of  the  com  i)osit  ions  was  in  \lozart's  hand,  and  M.  de  St.  I''oix.  after  further  consider- 
ation of  the  internal  evidence,  declared  them  all  to  be  indubitably  by  Heethoven  and  gave 
his  reasons  in  an  essay  published  in  "The  Musical  Quarterly"  (New  York  and  Moslon, 
G.  Schirmerj  of  .April,  l'.)H).  He  told  the  history  of  the  manuseri|)ls  as  follows:  "They 
had  been  presented  by  the  P>mp<T<)r  of  .\uslria  to  the  Sultan  Alulul  Aziz.  The  latter, 
who  probably  cared  very  little  for  these  relies  of  the  ISlh  century,  presented  lliem  in 


140  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

published  in  1830  by  Dunst  in  Frankfort,  with  a  dedication  to 
Eleonore  von  Breuning.  It  is  probably  the  sonata  which  Beet- 
hoven, according  to  the  letter  to  be  given  presently,  had  promised 
to  his  friend  and  which  was  fully  sketched  at  the  time.  There 
would  be  no  doubt  of  the  fact  that  the  sonata  was  written  in 
Bonn  if  the  presumption  that  the  letter  was  written  in  Bonn 
were  true;  but  even  as  it  is,  the  fact  that  the  letter  says  that  it 
had  been  promised  "long  ago"  indicates  a  pre-Viennese  origin. 
All  that  is  certain  is  that  Eleonore  von  Breuning  received  it  from 
Beethoven  in  1796.  In  the  copy  sent  to  the  publisher  eleven 
measures  at  the  end  of  the  Adagio  were  lacking.  These  were  sup- 
plied by  Ferdinand  Ries  in  the  manner  of  Beethoven.  There  can 
scarcely  be  a  doubt  that  Beethoven  finished  the  Adagio,  and  it 
can  be  assumed  that  he  also  composed  a  last  movement,  which 
has  been  lost. 

Concerning  the  Rondo  in  C  major  published  in  Bossier's 
"Blumenlese"  of  1783,  we  have  already  spoken.^ 

It  is  a  striking  fact  to  any  one  who  has  had  occasion  to  exam- 
ine carefully  the  chronology  of  publication  of  Beethoven's  works, 
that  up  to  nearly  the  close  of  1802  whatever  appeared  under  his 
name  was  worthy  of  that  name;  but  that  then,  in  the  period  of 
the  second,  third  and  fourth  symphonies,  of  the  sonatas.  Op.  47, 
53,  57  and  of  "Leonore,"  to  the  wonder  of  the  critics  of  that  time 
serial  advertisements  of  the  "Kunst-  und  Industrie-Comptoir"  in 
Vienna  announce  the  Trios,  Op.  30  and  the  seven  Bagatelles, 
Op.  33;  in  another  the  "Grand  Sinfonie,"  Op.  36,  and  the  Variations 
on  "God  save  the  King";  on  May  15,  1805,  the  Waldstein  Sonata 
and  the  Romance,  Op.  50;  and  on  June  16  the  songs.  Op.  52,  which 
the  "Allgemeine  Mus.  Zeitung"  describes  as  "commonplace,  poor, 
weak,  in  part  ridiculous  stuff."  Ries  solves  the  enigma  when  he 
writes  ("Notizen,"   124)  that  all  trifles,  many  things  which  he 

turn  to  his  musical  director,  Guatelli  Pasha.  An  English  collector,  Julian  Marshall, 
purchased  them  from  the  Pasha's  son,  W.  Guatelli  Bey,  and  when,  later  on,  the  British 
Museum  acquired  the  Marshall  Collection  these  manuscripts  went  over  into  its 
possession." 

The  Gavotte  was  played  at  a  concert  of  the  Beethoven  Association  in  New  York 
in  January,  19£0,  by  Madame  Samaroff  and  Harold  Bauer,  being  inserted  as  a  movement 
in  the  Sonata  in  A  major  for  four  hands.  Op.  6.  Mr.  Bauer  also  made  an  arrangement 
for  two  hands  which  has  been  published  by  G.  Schirmer. 

'The  discoveries  which  have  been  made  since  Thayer  wrote  his  first  volume  have 
very  eflFectually  disproved  the  old  belief  touching  the  sterility  of  the  Bonn  period.  The 
inquiry  which  might  still  be  pursued  now  is  whether  or  not  other  compositions  which 
have  been  attributed  to  a  later  period  may  not  also  have  been  composed,  or  at  least 
projected  and  sketched,  in  Bonn.  The  point  of  view  has  changed,  but  what  Thayer 
wrote  over  half  a  century  ago  is  still  so  largely  pertinent  that  it  is  here  given  in  the  body 
of  the  text  with  only  such  modifications  as  were  necessary  to  bring  it  into  harmony  v.ith 
the  rest  of  the  chapter. 


Works  Taken  to  Vienna  From  Bonn  141 

never  intended  to  publish  because  he  deemed  them  unworthy  of 
his  name,  were  given  to  the  world  through  the  agency  of  his  brother. 
In  this  manner  the  world  was  made  acquainted  with  songs  which 
he  had  written  long  before  he  went  to  Vienna  from  Bonn.  Even 
little  compositions  which  he  had  written  in  albums  were  filched 
and  published. 

But  even  if  the  widest  latitude  be  given  to  the  judgment  in 
selecting  from  the  publications  of  these  years  works  belonging  to 
the  Bonn  period,  still  what  an  exceedingly  meagre  list  is  the  aggre- 
gate of  Beethoven's  compositions  from  his  twelfth  to  the  end  of 
his  twenty-second  year!  Mozart's,  according  to  Kochel,  reach  at 
that  age  293;  Handel  completed  his  twentieth  year,  February 
23,  1705;  on  the  twenty-fifth  his  second  opera  "Nero"  was  per- 
formed.    And  what  had  he  not  previously  written! 

This  apparent  lack  of  productiveness  on  the  part  of  Beetho- 
ven has  been  noticed  by  other  writers.  One  has  disputed  the 
fact  and  is  of  opinion  that  the  composer  in  later  years  destroyed 
the  manuscripts  of  his  youth  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  injury 
to  his  fame  by  their  posthumous  publication.  But  this  explana- 
tion is  nonsense,  as  every  one  knows  who  has  had  an  opportunity 
to  examine  the  autograph  collections  in  Vienna  and  there  to  re- 
mark with  what  scrupulous  care  even  his  most  valueless  produc- 
tions were  preserved  by  their  author  in  all  his  migrations  from 
house  to  house  and  from  city  to  country  throughout  his  Vienna 
life. 

Beethoven  attached  absolutely  no  value  to  his  autographs;  after 
they  had  once  been  engraved  they  generally  were  piled  on  the  floor  in 
his  hving  room  or  an  anteroom  among  other  pieces  of  music.  I  often 
brought  order  into  his  music,  but  when  Beethoven  hunted  for  anytliing, 
everything  was  sent  flying  in  disorder.  At  that  time  I  might  have  carried 
away  the  autograi^h  manuscripts  of  all  the  pieces  which  had  been  printed, 
or  had  I  asked  him  for  them  he  would  unquestionably  have  given  them 
to  me  without  a  thought. 

These  words  of  Ries  are  confirmed  by  the  small  number  of 
autographs  of  printed  works  in  the  auction  catalogue  of  Beet- 
hoven's posthumous  papers — most  of  them  having  remained  in 
the  hands  of  the  publishers  or  having  been  lost,  destroyed  or 
stolen. 

Anot})er  author  has  endeavored  to  supply  tJie  vacuum  by 
deducing  the  chronology  of  Beethoven's  works  from  their  form, 
matter  or  general  character  as  viewed  by  his  eyes,  referring  all 
which  seem  to  him  below  the  standard  of  the  composer  at  any 
particular  period  to  an  earlier  one;  and  a  very  comical   chronology 


14^J  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

he  makes  of  it.  His  success  certainly  has  not  been  such  as  to 
induce  any  attempt  of  the  kind  here;  and  yet  that  he  is  right  in 
the  general  fact  is  the  hypothesis  which  the  following  remarks 
are  conceived  to  establish  as  truth.  Schindler — who  is  often  very 
positive  on  the  ground  that  what  he  does  not  know  cannot  be 
true — in  introducing  his  chronological  table  of  Beethoven's  works, 
published  from  1796  to  1800,  remarks:  "It  may  be  asserted  with 
positiveness  that  none  of  the  works  catalogued  below  were  com- 
posed before  1794";  upon  which  point  the  assertion  is  ventured 
that  Schindler  is  thoroughly  mistaken  and  that  many  of  the  works 
published  by  Beethoven  during  the  first  dozen  years  of  his  Vienna 
life  were  taken  thither  from  Bonn.  They  doubtless  were  more 
or  less  altered,  amended,  improved,  corrected,  but  nevertheless 
belong  as  compositions  to  those  years  when  "Beethoven  played 
pianoforte  concertos,  and  Herr  Neefe  accompanied  at  Court  in 
the  theatre  and  in  concerts."  While  the  other  young  men  were 
trying  their  strength  upon  works  for  the  orchestra  and  stage,  the 
performance  of  which  would  necessarily  give  them  notoriety,  the 
Court  Pianist  would  naturally  confine  himself  mostly  to  his  own 
instrument  and  to  chamber  music — to  works  whose  production 
before  a  small  circle  in  the  salons  of  the  Elector,  Countess  Hatzfeld 
and  others  would  excite  little  if  any  public  notice.  But  here  he 
struck  out  so  new,  and  at  that  time  so  strange  a  path  that  no 
small  degree  of  praise  is  due  to  the  sagacity  of  Count  Wald- 
stein,  who  comprehended  his  aims,  felt  his  greatness  and  en- 
couraged him  to  trust  to  and  be  guided  by  his  own  instincts  and 
genius. 

That  Beethoven  also  tried  his  powers  in  a  wider  field  we  know 
from  the  two  cantatas,  the  airs  in  "Die  schone  Schusterin"  and 
the  "Ritterballet,"  Carl  Haslinger  in  Vienna  also  possessed  an 
orchestral  introduction  to  the  second  act  of  an  unnamed  opera 
which  may  as  well  be  referred  to  the  Bonn  period  as  to  any  other; 
and  it  is  not  by  any  means  a  wild  suggestion  that  he  had  tried  his 
strength  in  other  concertos  for  pianoforte  and  full  orchestra  than 
that  of  1784.  As  to  the  compositions  for  two,  six  or  eight  wind- 
instruments  there  was  little  if  any  danger  of  mistake  in  supposing 
them  to  have  been  written  for  the  Elector's  "Harmonie-Musik." 
But  this  is  wandering  from  the  point;  to  establish  which  the 
following  remarks  are  in  all  humility  submitted: 

I.  If  a  list  be  drawn  up  of  Beethoven's  compositions  pub- 
lished between  1795  and  December,  1802,  with  the  addition  of 
other  works  known  to  have  been  composed  in  those  years,  the 
result  will  be  nearly  as  follows  (omitting  single  songs  and  other 


Creative  Industry  in  Bonn  143 

minor  pieces):  symphonies,  2;  ballet  ("Prometheus"),  1;  sonatas 
(solo  and  duo),  32;  romances  (violin  and  orchestra),  2;  serenade, 
1;  duos  (clarinet  and  bassoon),  3;  sets  of  variations,  15;  sets 
of  dances,  5;  "Ah!  perfido"  and  "Adelaide,"  2;  pianoforte  con- 
certos, 3;  trios  (pianoforte  and  other  instruments),  9;  quartets, 
6;  quintets,  3;  septet,  1;  pianoforte  rondos,  3;  marches  (for 
four  hands),  3;  oratorio  ("Christus"),  1;  an  aggregate  of  92  com- 
positions in  eight  years  or  ninety-six  months.  And  most  of  them 
such  compositions!  That  Beethoven  was  a  remarkable  man  all 
the  world  knows;  but  that  he  could  produce  at  this  rate,  study 
operatic  composition  with  Salieri,  sustain,  nay,  increase  his  repu- 
tation as  a  pianoforte  virtuoso,  journey  to  Prague,  Berlin  and 
other  places,  correct  proof-sheets  for  his  publishers,  give  lessons 
and  yet  find  time  to  write  long  letters  to  friends,  to  sleep,  to  eat, 
drink  and  be  merry  with  companions  of  his  own  age — this  is,  to 
say  the  least,  "a  morsel  difficult  of  digestion."  The  more  so  from 
the  fact  that  at  the  very  time  when  he  began  to  devote  himself 
more  exclusively  to  composition  such  marvellous  fertility  suddenly 
ceased.     The  inference  is  obvious. 

II.  When  Neefe,  in  1798,  calls  Beethoven  "beyond  contro- 
versy one  of  the  foremost  pianoforte  players,"  it  excites  no  surprise. 
Ten  years  before  he  had  played  the  most  of  Bach's  "Well-Tempered 
Clavichord"  and  had  now  long  held  the  offices  of  Second  Court 
Organist  and  Concerto  Plaj^er;  but  what  sufficient  reason  could 
Waldstein  have  had  for  his  faith  that  this  pianist,  by  study  and 
perseverance,  would  yet  be  able  to  seize  and  hold  the  sceptre  of 
Mozart.^  And  upon  what  grounds,  too,  could  Fischenich,  on 
January  2G,  1793,  write  as  he  did  to  Charlotte  von  Schiller 
from  Bonn  (see  ante)  and  add,  "I  expect  something  perfect 
from  liini,  for  so  far  as  I  know  him  he  is  wholly  devoted 
to  the  great  and  sul)lime.  ,  .  .  Haydn  has  written  here  that 
he  would  soon  put  him  at  grand  operas  and  soon  be  obliged  to 
quit  composing." 

Note  the  date  of  this — January  26,  1793.  Haydn  must  have 
written  some  time  before  this,  when  Beethoven  could  not  liave 
been  with  liim  more  than  six  or  eight  weeks.  Did  tlie  master 
found  his  remark  upon  wiiat  he  had  seen  in  his  pui)il  or  upon  the 
compositions  which  his  pui)il  had  placed  l)efore  him?  Wegeler 
has  printed  an  undated  and  incomplete  letter  of  Beethoven  to 
Eleonore  von  Breuning,  certainly,  however,  not  later  than  the 
spring  of  1794,  which  was  accompanied  by  a  set  of  variations  and 
a  rondo  for  f)ianoforte  and  violin.  Do  the  following  passages 
in  this  letter  indicate  anything.^ 


144  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

I  have  a  great  deal  to  do  or  I  would  before  this  have  transcribed 
the  sonata  whwh  I  promised  you  long  ago.  It  is  a  mere  sketch  in  my 
manuscript  and  it  would  be  a  difficult  task  even  for  the  clever  and  prac- 
tised Paraquin  to  copy  it.  You  can  have  the  rondo  copied  and  return 
the  score  to  me.  It  is  the  only  one  of  my  things  which  is,  in  a  manner, 
suitable  to  you. 

May  these  words  not  be  paraphrased  thus:  "As  to  the  sonata 
wliich  I  played  at  your  house  and  of  which  I  promised  you  a  copy 
— it  is  in  my  manuscript  hardly  more  than  a  sketch,  so  that  I 
could  not  trust  it  to  a  copyist,  not  even  to  Paraquin,  and  I  have 
not  had  leisure  to  transcribe  it  myself."  And,  finally,  the  closing 
lines  of  a  short  article  in  the  "Jahrbuch  der  Tonkunst  fiir  Wien 
und  Prag,"  1776 — -which  notice  was  not  written  later  than  the 
spring  of  1795,  nine  or  ten  months  before  the  publication  of  the 
Sonatas  Op.  2 — are  pregnantly  suggestive:  "We  have  a  number 
of  beautiful  sonatas  by  him,  amongst  which  the  last  ones  particu- 
larly distinguish  themselves."  These  works  were,  therefore, 
well-known  in  manuscript  even  at  the  time  when  he  was  busy 
with  his  studies  under  Haydn  and  Albrechtsberger. 

III.  If  in  spite  of  the  above  it  still  be  objected  that  the  opera 
1  to  15,  or  20,  as  you  please,  are  of  a  character  beyond  the  powers 
of  Beethoven  during  his  Bonn  life,  who  knows  this  to  be  a  fact.'* 
Has  such  an  objection  any  other  basis  than  a  mere  prejudice? 

A  fanciful  theory  has  exhibited  Beethoven  to  us  as  a  rude,  un- 
developed genius,  who,  being  transferred  to  Vienna  and  schooled 
two  years  by  Haydn  and  Albrechtsberger,  then  began  with  the 
Trios  Op.  1,  wrought  his  way  upward  in  eight  years  through  the 
twenty-three  compositions  of  opera  2  to  14  in  a  geometrical  pro- 
gression to  the  first  pianoforte  concertos,  the  ballet  "Prometheus" 
and  the  Symphony  in  C!  It  is,  however,  known  that  in  March, 
1795,  Beethoven  played  his  Pianoforte  Concerto  in  B-flat  in  Vienna, 
shortly  afterward  published  the  Trios,  Op.  1,  and  in  1796  composed 
the  two  sonatas  for  pianoforte  and  violoncello  in  Berlin.  A  young 
man  who  at  the  age  of  24  or  25  could  give  the  public  two  such 
concertos  could  hardly  have  been  such  a  rough  diamond  only 
three  or  four  years  before. 

IV.  However  convincing  the  preceding  propositions  may 
seem  to  the  ordinary  reader,  the  critical  student  of  musical  history 
justly  demands  something  more.  It  is  not  enough  for  him  to 
know  that  Op.  19  was  composed  before  the  publication  of  Op.  1 ; 
that  Op.  2  is  in  part  made  up  from  the  Pianoforte  Quartets  of  1785; 
that  the  Quintet  Op.  4  is  an  arrangement  of  the  "Parthia"  in  E-flat 
for  wind-instruments  afterwards  published  as  Op.  103,  and  is  now 


Evidences  of  Early  Activity  145 

proved  to  belong  to  the  Bonn  period,  and  that  a  whole  movement 
of  the  funeral  cantata  found  its  way  into  "Fidelio" — the  argument 
is  to  him  like  an  arch  without  its  keystone  until  one  or  more  of 
the  important  works  be  named  specifically  as  Bonn  compositions 
and  proved  to  be  such.^ 

'Thayer  proceeds  from  this  point  to  give  the  reasons  for  his  belief  that  the  Trios 
Op.  1  and  3  were  written  in  Bonn.  The  origin  of  Op.  1  will  be  discussed  hereafter; 
that  of  the  latter  has  just  been  made  clear  by  the  story  of  Mrs.  Bowater  and  Abb 6 
Dobbeler. 


Chapter  XI 


Beethoven  in  Vienna — Personal  Details  —  Death  of  His 
Father  —  Minor  Expenditures  and  Receipts  —  Studies 
with  Albrechtsberger  and  Salieri. 

IT  would  be  pleasant  to  announce  the  arrival  of  Ludwig  van 
Beethoven  in  Vienna  with,  so  to  speak,  a  grand  flourish  of 
trumpets,  and  to  indulge  the  fancy  in  a  highly-colored  and 
poetic  account  of  his  advent  there;  but,  unluckily,  there  is  none 
of  that  lack  of  data  which  is  favorable  to  that  kind  of  composi- 
tion; none  of  that  obscurity  which  exalts  one  to  write  history  as  he 
would  have  it  and  not  as  it  really  was.  The  facts  are  too  patent. 
Like  the  multitude  of  studious  youths  and  young  men  who  came 
thither  annually  to  find  schools  and  teachers,  this  small,  thin, 
dark-complexioned,  pockmarked,  dark-eyed,  bewigged  young 
musician  of  22  years  had  quietly  journeyed  to  the  capital  to 
pursue  the  study  of  his  art  with  a  small,  thin,  dark-complexioned, 
pockmarked,  black-eyed  and  bewigged  veteran  composer.  In 
the  well-known  anecdote  related  by  Carpani  of  Haydn's  intro- 
duction to  him,  Anton  Esterhazy,  the  prince,  is  made  to  call  the 
composer  "a  Moor."  Beethoven  had  even  more  of  the  Moor  in 
his  looks  than  his  master.  His  front  teeth,  owing  to  the  singular 
flatness  of  the  roof  of  his  mouth,  protruded,  and,  of  course, 
thrust  out  his  lips;  the  nose,  too,  was  rather  broad  and  decidedly 
flattened,  while  the  forehead  was  remarkably  full  and  round — 
in  the  words  of  the  late  Court  Secretary,  Mahler,  who  twice 
painted  his  portrait,  a  "bullet." 

"Beethoven,"  wrote  Junker,  "confessed  that  in  his  journeys 
he  had  seldom  found  in  the  playing  of  the  most  distinguished 
virtuosos  that  excellence  which  he  supposed  he  had  a  right  to 
expect."  He  now  had  an  opportunity  to  make  his  observations 
upon  the  pianists  and  composers  at  the  very  headquarters,  then,  of 
German  music,  to  improve  himself  by  study  under  the  best  of  them 
and,  by  and  by,  to  measure  his  strength  with  theirs.  He  found 
very  soon  that  the  words  of  the  poet  were  here  also  applicable: 

[  146  ] 


Beethoven  Settles  Down  in  Vienna  147 

"'Tis  distance  lends  enchantment  to  the  view,"  and  did  not 
find — now  Mozart  was  gone — "what  he  supposed  he  had  a  right 
to  expect."  For  the  present,  however,  we  have  to  do  but  with 
the  young  stranger  in  a  large  city,  seeking  lodgings,  and  making 
such  arrangements  for  the  future  as  shall  not  be  out  of  due  pro- 
portion to  the  limited  pecuniary  means  at  his  command.  If  the 
minute  details  which  here  follow  should  seem  to  be  too  insignifi- 
cant in  themselves,  the  bearing  they  have  upon  some  other  future 
questions  must  justify  their  introduction. 

Turning  again  to  the  memorandum  book,  the  first  entries 
which  follow  the  notes  of  the  journey  from  Bonn  to  Wiirges  are 
merely  of  necessities  to  be  supplied — "wood,  wig-maker,  coffee, 
overcoat,  boots,  shoes,  pianoforte-desk,  seal,  writing-desk,  piano- 
forte-money" and  something  illegible  followed  by  the  remark:  "All 
beginning  with  next  month."  The  next  page  gives  a  hint  as  to 
the  day  of  his  arrival.  It  contains  the  substance  of  two  adver- 
tisements in  the  "Wiener  Zeitung"  of  pianofortes  for  sale,  one 
near  the  Hohen  Markt  and  two  "im  Kramerschen  Breihaus  No. 
257  im  Schlossergassel,  am  Graben."  The  latter  appears  for  the 
last  time  on  the  10th  of  November;  Beethoven  was,  therefore, 
then  in  Vienna. 

But  he  intends  to  cultivate  the  Graces  as  well  as  the  Muses. 
The  next  page  begins  with  this:  "Andreas  Lindner,  dancing-master, 
lives  in  the  Stoss  am  Himmel,  No.  415,"  to  which  succeeds  a  note, 
evidently  of  money  received  from  the  Elector,  possibly  in  Bonn 
but  more  likely  in  Vienna:  "25  ducats  received  of  which,  expended 
on  November  (.'')  half  a  sovereign  for  the  pianoforte,  or  6  florins, 
40  kreutzer — 2  florins  were  of  my  own  money."  The  same  page 
also  shows  him  in  the  matter  of  his  toilet  preparing  even  then  for 
entrance  into  society:  "Black  silk  stockings,  1  ducat;  1  pair  of 
winter  silk  stockings,  1  florin,  40  kreutzers;  boots,  6  florins;  shoes, 
1  florin,  30  kreutzers."  But  these  expenses  in  addition  to  his  daily 
necessities  are  making  a  large  inroad  upon  his  "25  ducats  received"; 
and  on  page  7  we  read:  "On  Wednesday  the  12th  of  December, 
I  had  15  ducats."  (The  12th  of  December  fell  upon  Wednesday 
in  the  year  1792.)  Omitting  for  the  present  what  else  stands  upon 
page  7,  here  are  the  interesting  contents  of  page  8  —and  how  sug- 
gestive and  pregnant  they  are:  "In  Bonn  I  counted  on  receiving 
100  ducats  here;  but  in  vain.  I  have  got  to  equip  myself  com- 
pletely anew." 

Several  pages  whicli  follow  contain  what,  upon  inspection, 
proves  evidently  to  be  his  monthly  i)ayraents  from  the  time  wlien 
"all  was  to  begin  next  month,"  of  which  the  first  may  be  given  as 


148  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

a  specimen:  "House-rent,  14  florins;  pianoforte,  6  florins,  49 
kreutzers;  eating,  each  time  12  kreutzers;  meals  with  wine  6 
and  one-half  florins;  3  kreutzers  for  B.  and  H.;  it  is  not  necessary 
to  give  the  housekeeper  more  than  7  florins,  the  rooms  are  so  close 
to  the  ground."^ 

Beethoven  was  hardly  well  settled  in  his  lodgings,  the  novelty 
of  his  position  had  scarcely  begun  to  wear  off  under  the  effect  of 
habit,  when  startling  tidings  reached  him  from  Bonn  of  an  event 
to  cloud  his  Christmas  holidays,  to  weaken  his  ties  to  his  native 
place,  to  increase  his  cares  for  his  brothers  and  make  an  important 
change  in  his  pecuniary  condition.  His  father  had  suddenly  died 
— "1792,  Dec.  18,  obiit  Johannes  Beethoff,"  says  the  death-roll 
of  St.  Remigius  parish.  The  Elector-Archbishop,  still  in  Munster, 
heard  this  news  also  and  consecrated  a  joke  to  the  dead  man's 
memory.  On  the  1st  of  January,  1793,  he  wrote  a  letter  to  Court 
Marshal  von  Schall  in  which  these  words  occur: 

The  revenues  from  the  liquor  excise  have  suffered  a  loss  in  the 
deaths  of  Beethoven  and  Eichhoff.  For  the  widow  of  the  latter,  provision 
will  be  made  if  circumstances  allow  in  view  of  his  40  years  of  service — 
in  the  electoral  kitchen. 

Franz  Ries  was  again  to  befriend  Beethoven  and  act  for  him 
in  his  absence,  and  the  receipt  for  his  first  quarter's  salary  (25  th.) 
is  signed  "F.  Ries,  in  the  name  of  Ludwig  Beethoven,"  at  the 
usual  time,  namely  the  beginning  of  the  second  month  of  the 
quarter,  February  4.  But  the  lapse  of  Johann  van  Beethoven's 
pension  of  200  thalers,  was  a  serious  misfortune  to  his  son,  par- 
ticularly since  the  100  ducats  were  not  forthcoming.  The  corre- 
spondence between  Beethoven  and  Ries  not  being  preserved  it 
can  only  be  conjectured  that  the  latter  took  the  proper  steps  to 
obtain  that  portion  of  the  pension  set  apart  by  the  electoral 
decree  for  the  support  of  the  two  younger  sons;  but  in  vain, 
owing  to  the  disappearance  of  the  original  document;  and  that, 
receiving  information  of  this  fact,  Beethoven  immediately  sent 
from  Vienna  the  petition  which  follows,  but  which,  as  is  mostly 
the  case  with  that  class  of  papers  in  the  Bonn  archives,  is 
without  date: 


'Beethoven's  first  lodgings  were  in  an  attic-room  which  he  soon  exchanged  for  a 
room  on  the  ground  floor  of  a  house  No.  45  Alsterstrasse  occupied  by  one  Strauss,  a 
printer.  The  house  now  on  the  site  is  No.  30.  Another  occupant  of  the  house  was 
Prince  Lichnowsky,  who  soon  after  tooli  him  into  his  lodgings.  He  remained  in  this 
house  until  May,  1795. 


Del\th  of  Johanx  van  Beethoven  149 

Several  years  ago  Your  Serene  Electoral  Highness  was  graciously 
pleased  to  retire  my  father,  the  tenor  singer  van  Beethoven,  from  service, 
and  to  set  aside  100  thalers  of  his  salary  to  me  that  I  might  clothe, 
nourish  and  educate  my  two  younger  brothers  and  also  pay  the  debts 
of  my  father. 

I  was  about  to  present  this  decree  to  Your  Highness's  Revenue 
Exchequer  when  my  father  urgently  begged  me  not  to  do  so  inasmuch 
as  it  would  have  the  appearance  in  the  eyes  of  the  public  as  if  he  were 
incapable  of  caring  for  his  family,  adding  that  he  would  himself  pay  me 
the  25  thalers  quarterly,  which  he  always  did. 

When,  however,  on  the  death  of  my  father  (in  December  of  last 
year)  I  wished  to  make  use  of  Your  Highness's  grace  by  presenting  the 
above-mentioned  gracious  decree  I  learned  to  my  terror,  that  my  father 
had  misapplied  {unterschlagen  =  to  embezzle)   the  same. 

In  most  obedient  veneration  I  therefore  pray  Your  Electoral  High- 
ness for  the  gracious  renewal  of  this  decree  and  that  Your  Highness's 
Revenue  Exchequer  be  directed  to  pay  over  to  me  the  sum  graciously 
allowed  to  me  due  for  the  last  quarter  at  the  beginning  of  last  February. 
Your  Electoral  and  Serene  Highness's 
Most  obedient  and  faithful 

Lud.   V.   Beethoven;  Court  Organist. 

The  petition  was  duly  considered  by  the  Privy  Council 
and  with  the  result  indicated  by  the  endorsement: 

....  "The  100  reichsthaler  which  he  is  now  receiving 
annually  is  increased  by  a  further  100  reichsthaler  in 
ad  sup.  quarterly  payments  beginning  with  January  1st,  from 

of  the  the   200    rth.   salary  vacated    by   the   death  of  his 

Court  Organist     father;  he  is  further  to  receive  the  three  measures  of 
L.  van  Beethoven     grain  graciously  bestowed  upon  him  for  the  educa- 
tion of  his  brothers."     The  Electoral  Court  Chancel- 
lory will  make  the  necessary  provisions.     Attest  p. 

The  order  to  the  exchequer  followed  on  May  S^th,  and  on 
June  15th,  Franz  Ries  had  the  satisfaction  of  signing  receipts — 
one  for  25  thalers  for  January,  February  and  March,  and  one  for 
50  thalers  for  the  second  quarter  of  the  year;  hut  from  tliis  time 
onward  no  hint  has  yet  been  discovered  that  Beetlioven  ever 
received  anything  from  the  Elector  or  had  any  resources  but  his 
own  earnings  and  the  generosity  of  newly-found  friends  in  Vienna. 
These  resources  were  soon  needed.  The  remark  that  two  florins 
of  the  payment  towards  the  pianoforte  were  out  of  his  own  money 
proves  tliat  he  possessed  a  small  sum  saved  uj)  by  degrees  from 
lesson-giving,  from  presents  rec<Mved  and  tJie  like;  but  it  could 
not  have  been  a  large  amount,  while  the  25  ducats  and  the  above 
recorded  receipts  of  salary  were  all  too  small  to  have  carried  him 
through  the  summer  of  179.'J.     Here  is  the  second  of  his  monthly 


loO  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

records  of  necessary  and  regular  expenses  in  farther  proof  of  this: 
*'14  florins  house-rent;  6  fl.  40  x,  pianoforte;  meals  with  wine, 
15  fl.  and  a  half;  — (?),  3  florins;  maid,  1,"  the  sura  total  being 
as  added  by  himself  "11  ducats  and  one-half  florin."  And  yet 
at  the  end  of  the  year  there  are  entries  that  show  that  he  was  not 
distressed  for  money.  For  instance:  "the  24th  October,  i.e.,  reckon- 
ing from  November  1st,  112  florins  and  30  kreutzer";  "2  ducats 
for  a  seal;  1  florin,  25  kreutzers,  copyist";  "Tuesday  and  Saturday 
from  7  to  8.  Sunday  from  11  to  12,  3  florins";  and  the  final  entry 
not  later  in  date  than  1794  is:  "3  carolins  in  gold,  4  carolins  in 
crown  thalers  and  4  ducats  make  7  carolins  and  4  ducats  and  a 
lot  of  small  change." 

In  what  manner  Beethoven  was  already  in  1794  able  to  remain 
"in  Vienna  without  salary  until  recalled,"  to  quote  the  Elector's 
words,  will  hereafter  appear  with  some  degree  of  certainty;  but 
just  now  he  claims  attention  as  pupil  of  Haydn  and  Albrechts- 
berger.  The  citations  made  in  a  previous  chapter  from  the  letters 
of  Neefe  and  Fischenich  prove  how  strong  an  impression  Beet- 
hoven's powers,  both  as  virtuoso  and  composer,  had  made  upon 
Joseph  Haydn  immediately  after  his  reaching  Vienna;  and  no 
man  then  living  was  better  able  to  judge  on  such  points.  But 
whether  the  famous  chapelmaster,  just  returned  from  his  English 
triumphs,  himself  a  daring  and  successful  innovator  and  now  very 
busy  with  compositions  in  preparation  for  his  second  visit  to 
London,  was  the  man  to  guide  the  studies  of  a  headstrong,  self- 
willed  and  still  more  daring  musical  revolutionist  was,  a  priori,  a 
very  doubtful  question.     The  result  proved  that  he  was  not. 

The  memorandum  book  has  a  few  entries  which  relate  to 
Haydn.  On  page  7,  that  which  contains  the  15  ducats  on  the 
12th  of  October,  1792,  there  is  a  column  of  numerals,  the  first  of 
which  reads,  "Haidn  8  groschen";  the  other  twelve,  except  a  single 
"1,"  all  "2";  and  on  the  two  pages  which  happen  to  have  the 
dates  of  October  24  and  29,  1793,  are  these  two  entries:  "22  x, 
chocolate  for  Haidn  and  me";  "Coffee,  6  x  for  Haidn  and  me." 
These  notes  simply  confirm  what  was  known  from  other  sources, 
namely,  that  Beethoven  began  to  study  with  Haydn  very  soon 
after  reaching  Vienna  and  continued  to  be  his  pupil  until  the  end 
of  the  year  1793.^  They  indicate,  also,  that  the  scholar,  whatever 
feelings  he  may  have  indulged  towards  the  master  in  secret,  kept 
on  good  terms  with  him,  and  that  their  private  intercourse  was 
not  confined  to  the  hours  devoted  to  lessons  in  Haydn's  room  in 

KDr  the  beginning  of  1794,  since  Haydn  left  Vienna  on  January  19,  of  that  year. 


Beethoven's  Studies  With  Haydn  151 

the   Hamberger   house,    No.    99-2    on    the    (no    longer    existing) 
Wasserkunstbastei. 

Concerning  the  course  of  study  during  that  year,  nothing  can 
be  added  to  the  words  of  Nottebohm  ("Allg.  Mus.  Zeitung," 
1863-1864),  founded  upon  a  most  thorough  examination  of  all  the 
known  manuscripts  and  authorities  which  bear  upon  this  question. 
Of  the  manuscripts  Nottebohm  says:  "They  are  exercises  in  simple 
counterpoint  on  six  plain  chants  in  the  old  modes.  .  .  .  He  must 
have  written  more."  But  what.^^  On  this  point  there  are  no 
indications  to  be  found.  It  may  be  accepted  with  considerable 
certainty  that  the  contrapuntal  exercises  were  preceded  by  an 
introductory,  though  probably  brief,  study  of  the  nature  of  con- 
sonances and  dissonances.  For  this  the  last  chapter  of  the  first 
book  of  Fux's  "Gradus  ad  Parnassum"  might  have  served. 

But  this  (adds  Nottebohm)  would  not  have  sufficed  to  fill  the  entire 
period.  In  view  of  Haydn's  predilection  for  Fux's  system  it  is  not  con- 
ceivable that  there  were  preliminary  exercises,  say  in  the  free  style  or  in 
the  modern  keys;  there  remains,  therefore,  no  alternative  but  to  go 
back  further  and  opine  that  the  study  with  Haydn  began  with  the  theory 
of  harmony  and  exercises  in  which  the  system  of  Philipp  Emanuel  Bach 
might  have  been  used. 

"It  is  certain,"  says  Schindler,  "that  Beethoven's  knowledge 
of  the  science  of  harmony  at  the  time  when  he  began  his  study 
with  Haydn  did  not  go  beyond  thoroughbass."     The  correctness 
of  this  opinion  of  Schindler  may  be  safely  left  to  the  judgment  of 
the  reader.     The  fact  seems  to  be  that  Beethoven,  conscious  of 
the  disadvantages   attending  the  want  of  thorougli   systematic 
instruction,  distrustful  of  himself  and  desirous  of  bringing  to  the 
test  many  of  his  novel  and  cherished  ideas,  Juid  determined  to 
accomplish  a  comj)lete  course  of  contrapuntal  study,  and  thus 
renew,  revise  and  reduce  to  order  and  system  the  great  mass  of 
his  previous  scientific  acquirements.     He  would,  at  all  events, 
thoroughly  know  and  understand  the  regular  that  lie  luiglit  with 
confidence  judge  for  himself  how  far  to  indulge  in  the  irregular. 
To  this  view,   long  since  adopted,   the  results  of   Noltcbolim's 
researches  add  credibility.     It  explains,  also,  how  a  young  man, 
too  confi(h*nt  in  the  soundness  of  his  views  to  l)e  willing  to  alter 
his  productions  because  tlicy  contained  passages  arul  i'lfects  cen- 
sured by  those  about  him  for  being  other  than  those  of  Mozart 
and  Haydn,  was  yet  willing,  with  the  modesty  of  true  genius,  to 
shut  them  up  in  his  writing-desk  until,  through  study  and  obser- 
vation, he  could  feel  himself  standing  upon  the  firm  basis  of  sound 


152  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

knowledge  and  then  retain  or  exclude,  according  to  the  dictates 
of  an  enlightened  judgment. 

Beethoven,  however,  very  soon  discovered  that  also  in  Haydn, 
as  a  teacher,  he  had  "not  found  that  excellence  which  he  supposed 
he  had  a  right  to  expect."  Ries  remembered  a  remark  made  by 
him  on  this  point:  "Haydn  had  wished  that  Beethoven  might 
put  the  word,  Tupil  of  Haydn,'  on  the  title  of  his  first  works. 
Beethoven  was  unwilling  to  do  so  because,  as  he  said,  though  he 
had  had  some  instruction  from  Haydn  he  had  never  learned  any- 
thing from  him."  Still  more  in  point  is  the  oft-repeated  story 
of  Johann  Schenk's  kindness  to  Beethoven,  related  by  Seyfried  in 
Grafer's  and  Schilling's  lexica  and  confirmed  by  Schindler,  which, 
when  divested  of  its  errors  in  dates,  may  be  related  thus:  Among 
Beethoven's  earliest  acquaintances  in  Vienna  was  the  Abbe  Joseph 
Gelinek,  one  of  the  first  virtuosos  then  in  that  city  and  an  amaz- 
ingly fruitful  and  popular  composer  of  variations.  It  was  upon 
him  that  Carl  Maria  von  Weber,  some  years  afterwards,  wrote 
the  epigram: 

Kein  Thema  auf  der  Welt  verschonte  dein  Genie, 
Das  simpelste  allein — Dich  selbst — variirst  du  nie! 

"No  theme  on  earth  escaped  your  genius  airy, — 
The  simplest  one  of  all — yourself — you  never  vary." 

Czerny  told  Otto  Jahn  that  his  father  once  met  Gelinek 
tricked  out  in  all  his  finery.  "Whither?"  he  inquired.  "I  am  asked 
to  measure  myself  with  a  young  pianist  who  is  just  arrived;  I'll 
use  him  up."  A  few  days  later  he  met  him  again.  "Well,  how 
was  it?"  "Ah,  he  is  no  man;  he's  a  devil.  He  will  play  me  and 
ail  of  us  to  death.  And  how  he  improvises!"  According  to 
Czerny,  Gelinek  remained  a  sworn  enemy  to  Beethoven. 

It  was  in  Gelinek's  lodgings  that  Schenk  heard  Beethoven 
improvise  for  the  first  time, 

a  treat  which  recalled  lively  recollections  of  Mozart.  With  many  mani- 
festations of  displeasure,  Beethoven,  always  eager  to  learn,  complained 
to  Gelinek  that  he  was  never  able  to  make  any  progress  in  his  contra- 
puntal studies  under  Haydn,  since  the  master,  too  variously  occupied, 
was  unable  to  pay  the  amount  of  attention  which  he  wanted  to  the 
exercises  he  had  given  him  to  work  out.  Gelinek  spoke  on  the  subject 
with  Schenk  and  asked  him  if  he  did  not  feel  disposed  to  give  Beethoven 
a  course  in  composition.  Schenk  declared  himself  willing,  with  ready 
courtesy,  but  only  under  two  conditions:  that  it  should  be  without 
compensation  of  any  kind  and  under  the  strict  seal  of  secrecy.  The 
mutual  agreement  was  made  and  kept  with  conscientious  fidelity. 


Beethoven's  Improvisations  153 

Thus  far  Seyfried;  we  shall  now  permit  Schenk  to  tell  his 
own  story ;! 

In  1792,  His  Royal  Highness  Archduke  Maximilian,  Elector  of 
Cologne,  was  pleased  to  send  his  charge  Louis  van  Beethoven  to  Vienna 
to  study  musical  composition  with  Haydn.  Towards  the  end  of  July, 
Abbe  Gelinek  informed  me  that  he  had  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  young 
man  who  displayed  extraordinary  virtuosity  on  the  pianoforte,  such, 
indeed,  as  he  had  not  observed  since  Mozart.  In  passing  he  said  that 
Beethoven  had  been  studying  counterpoint  with  Haydn  for  more  than 
six  months  and  was  still  at  work  on  the  first  exercise;  also  that  His 
Excellency  Baron  van  Swieten  had  earnestly  recommended  the  study 
of  counterpoint  and  frequently  inquired  of  him  how  far  he  had  advanced 
in  his  studies.  As  a  result  of  these  frequent  incitations  and  the  fact 
that  he  was  still  in  the  first  stages  of  his  instruction,  Beethoven,  eager 
to  learn,  became  discontented  and  often  gave  expression  to  his  dissatis- 
faction to  his  friend.  Gelinek  took  the  matter  much  to  heart  and  came 
to  me  with  the  question  whether  I  felt  disposed  to  assist  his  friend  in 
the  study  of  counterpoint.  I  now  desired  to  become  better  acquainted 
with  Beethoven  as  soon  as  possible,  and  a  day  was  fixed  for  me  to  meet 
him  in  Gelinek's  lodgings  and  hear  him  play  on  the  pianoforte. 

Thus  I  saw  the  composer,  now  so  famous,  for  the  first  time  and 
heard  him  play.  After  the  customary  courtesies  he  offered  to  improvise 
on  the  pianoforte.  He  asked  me  to  sit  beside  him.  Having  struck  a 
few  chords  and  tossed  off  a  few  figures  as  if  they  were  of  no  significance, 
the  creative  genius  gradually  unveiled  his  profound  psychological  pic- 
tures. My  ear  was  continually  charmed  by  the  beauty  of  the  many 
and  varied  motives  which  he  wove  with  wonderful  clarity  and  loveliness 
into  each  other,  and  I  surrendered  my  heart  to  the  impressions  made 
upon  it  while  he  gave  himself  wholly  up  to  his  creative  imagination, 
and  anon,  leaving  the  field  of  mere  tonal  charm,  boldly  stormed  the 
most  distant  keys  in  order  to  give  expression  to  violent  i)assions.  .  .  . 

The  first  thing  that  I  did  the  next  day  was  to  visit  the  still  unknown 
artist  who  had  so  brilliantly  disclosed  his  mastership.  On  his  writing 
desk  I  found  a  few  passages  from  his  first  lesson  in  counterpoint.  A 
cursory  glance  disclosed  the  fact  that,  brief  as  it  was,  there  were  mistakes 
in  every  key.  Gelinek's  utterances  were  thus  verified.  Feeling  sure 
that  my  puf)!!  was  unfamiliar  with  the  j)reHminary  rules  of  counterpoint, 
I  gave  him  the  familiar  textbook  of  Joseph  Fux,  "Gradusad  Parnassum," 
and  asked  him  to  look  at  the  exercises  that  followed.  Josei)h  Haydn, 
who  had  returned  to  Vienna  towards  the  end  of  the  preceding  year,'' 
was  intent  on  utili/Jrig  his  muso  in  the  cornposition  of  large  niasterworks, 
and  thus  laudably  occupied  could  not  well  devote  himself  to  the  rules 
of  grammar.  I  was  now  eagerly  desirous  to  become  the  helper  of  the 
zealous  student.  But  bcfon;  beginning  the  instruction  I  made  him 
understand   that  our  cooperation   would   have  to   be   kept  secret.     In 

'The  excerpt  from  Schenk's  autobiography  which  follows  was  communicated  to 
Thayer  by  C)tto  .lahn  and  included  in  tin-  app<'n<lix  to  Vol.  II  of  the  original  edition  of 
this  biography.  The  present  editor  has  fcjilowcd  Dr.  Deiters  in  his  presentation  of  the 
case  in  Vol.  I  of  the  revised  edition. 

*Haydn,  according  to  Wurzbach,  returned  to  Vienna  on  July  24,  1792. 


154  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

view  of  this  I  recommended  that  he  copy  every  exercise  which  I  corrected 
in  order  that  Haydn  should  not  recognize  the  handwriting  of  a  stranger 
when  tlie  exercise  was  submitted  to  him.  After  a  year,  Beethoven  and 
Gelinek  had  a  falling  out  for  a  reason  that  has  escaped  me;  both,  it 
seemed  to  me,  were  at  fault.  As  a  result  Gelinek  got  angry  and  be- 
trayed my  secret.  Beethoven  and  his  brothers  made  no  secret  of  it  longer. 
I  began  my  honorable  office  with  my  good  Louis  in  the  beginning 
of  August,  1792,1  and  filled  it  uninterruptedly  until  May,  1793,^  by  which 
time  he  finished  double  counterpoint  in  the  octave  and  went  to  Eisen- 
stadt.  If  His  Royal  Highness  had  sent  his  charge  at  once  to  Albrechts- 
berger  his  studies  would  never  have  been  interrupted  and  he  would 
have  completed  them. 

Here  follows  a  passage,  afterward  stricken  out  by  Schenk, 
in  which  he  resents  the  statement  that  Beethoven  had  finished 
his  studies  with  Albrechtsberger.  This  would  have  been  advis- 
able, but  if  it  were  true,  Gelinek  as  well  as  Beethoven  would  have 
told  him  of  the  fact.  "On  the  contrary,  he  admitted  to  me  that 
he  had  gone  to  Herr  Salieri,  Royal  Imperial  Chapelmaster,  for 
lessons  in  the  free  style  of  composition."     Then  Schenk  continues : 

About  the  middle  of  May  he  told  me  that  he  would  soon  go  with 
Haydn  to  Eisenstadt  and  stay  there  till  the  beginning  of  winter;  he  did 
not  yet  know  the  date  of  his  departure.  I  went  to  him  at  the  usual  hour 
in  the  beginning  of  June  but  my  good  Louis  was  no  longer  to  be  seen.  He 
left  for  me  the  following  little  billet  which  I  copy  word  for  word: 

"Dear  Schenk! 

It  was  not  my  desire  to  set  of?  to-day  for  Eisenstadt.  I  should 
like  to  have  spoken  with  you  again.  Meanwhile  rest  assured  of  my 
gratitude  for  the  favors  shown  me.  I  shall  endeavor  with  all  my  might 
to  requite  them.  I  hope  soon  to  see  you  again,  and  once  more  to  enjoy 
the  pleasure  of  your  society.     Farewell  and 

do  not   entirely  forget 
your 

Beethoven." 

It  was  my  intention  only  briefly  to  touch  upon  my  relations  with 
Beethoven;  but  the  circumstances  under  which,  and  the  manner  in 
which  I  became  his  guide  in  musical  composition  constrained  me  to 
be  somewhat  more  explicit.  For  my  efforts  (if  they  can  be  called  efforts) 
I  was  rewarded  by  my  good  Louis  with  a  precious  gift,  viz.:  a  firm  bond 
of  friendship  which  lasted  without  fading  till  the  day  of  his  death. 

Written  in  the  summer  of  1830. 

A  chronological  difficulty  is  presented  by  Schenk's  story  of 
the  cessation  of  the  instruction.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  it 
began  towards  the  beginning  of  August,  1793,  as  confirmed  by  the 

'Schenk  is  in  error  as  to  both  dates.     He  means,  of  course,  1793  and  1794. 


Beethoven's  Relations  with  Haydn  155 

distinct  utterance  of  Schenk  (who  errs  in  the  year,  however), 
particularly  by  the  statement  that  the  study  with  Haydn  had 
already  endured  six  months.  Schenk's  instruction  is  said  to  have 
lasted  till  the  end  of  May,  1794,  and  the  definitive  mention  of  the 
month  makes  an  error  improbable.  But  at  this  time  Haydn  was 
already  long  in  England,  while  Schenk's  narrative  represents 
Beethoven  as  saying  that  he  intended  going  to  Eisenstadt  w^ith 
Haydn;  moreover,  Beethoven  was  already  Albrechtsberger's 
pupil  and  as  such  was  no  longer  in  need  of  secret  help.  Never- 
theless, the  continuance  of  the  relations  with  Schenk  is  easily 
possible  and  they  were  not  likely  to  be  interrupted  so  long  as  Beet- 
hoven remained  in  Vienna;  this  is  indicated  by  the  reference  to 
double  counterpoint,  which  Beethoven  did  not  study  under  Haydn 
but  with  Albrechtsberger;  also  Schenk's  intimation  that  if  the 
Elector  had  sent  his  charge  "at  once"  to  Albrechtsberger  shows 
that  instruction  with  the  latter  had  already  begun.  The  letter  to 
Schenk,  though  cast  in  friendly  terms,  can  nevertheless  be  inter- 
preted as  a  declination  of  further  services,  a  breaking  off  of  the 
relationship  between  teacher  and  pupil,  for  which  the  journey  to 
Eisenstadt  was  a  welcome  excuse.  But  we  learn  only  from  Schenk 
that  Beethoven  was  to  make  the  journey  wnth  Haydn,  and  he  may 
have  been  mistaken  in  this  as  he  was  in  the  year.  It  is  very 
conceivable  that  Beethoven  had  received  an  invitation  to  visit 
him  from  Prince  Esterhazj',  who  must  surely  have  got  acquainted 
w'ith  him  in  Vienna.  He  who  is  unwilling  to  accept  this,  must 
place  the  letter  and  the  journey  in  the  last  months  of  1793,  which 
is  in  every  respect  improbable. 

The  relations  between  Haydn  and  his  pupil  did  not  long  con- 
tinue truly  cordial;  yet  Beethoven  concealed  his  dissatisfaction 
and  no  break  occurred.  Thoughtless  and  reckless  of  consecjuences, 
as  lie  often  in  later  years  unfortunately  exhibited  himself  when 
indulging  his  wilfulness,  he  was  at  this  time  responsible  to  the 
Elector  for  his  conduct,  and  Haydn,  moreover,  was  too  valuable 
and  influential  a  friend  to  be  wantonly  alienated.  So,  whatever 
feelings  he  cherished  in  secret,  he  kei)t  them  to  himself,  went  reg- 
ularly to  his  lessons  and,  as  noted  above,  occasionally  treated  his 
master  to  chocolate  or  coffee.  It  was,  of  course,  Haydn  wlio  took 
the  young  man  to  Eisenstadt,  and,  as  Neefe  tells  us,  he  wished  to 
take  him  to  England.  Wliy  was  that  plan  not  carried  out.^  Did 
Maximilian  forbid  it.^  Wouhl  Beethoven's  pride  not  allow  him 
to  go  thither  as  Haj'dn's  })upil.^  Did  ze.il  for  liis  contrapuntnl 
studies  prevent  it.^  Or  liad  his  relations  to  the  Austrian  nobility 
already  become  such  as  offered  him  higher  hopes  of  success  in 


156  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

Vienna  than  Haydn  could  propose  in  London?  Or,  finally,  was 
it  his  ambition  rather  to  make  himself  known  as  Beethoven  the 
composer  than  as  Beethoven  the  pianoforte  virtuoso?  Pecuniary 
reasons  are  insufficient  to  account  for  the  failure  of  the  plan;  for 
Haydn,  who  now  knew  the  London  public,  could  easily  have  re- 
moved all  difficulty  on  that  score.  Neefe's  letter  was  written 
near  the  end  of  September,  1793,  when  already  "a  number  of 
reports"  had  reached  Bonn  "that  Beethoven  had  made  great 
progress  in  his  art."  These  "reports,"  we  know  from  Fischenich, 
came  in  part  from  Haydn  himself.  Add  to  that  the  wish  to  take 
his  pupil  with  him  to  England — which  was  certainly  the  highest 
compliment  he  could  possibly  have  paid  him — and  the  utter 
groundlessness  of  Beethoven's  suspicions  that  Haydn  "was  not 
well-minded  towards  him,"  as  Ries  says  in  his  "Notizen"  (page  85), 
is  apparent.  Yet  these  suspicions,  added  to  the  reasons  above 
suggested,  sufficiently  explain  the  departure  of  the  master  for 
London  without  the  company  of  his  pupil,  who  now  (January, 
1794)    was   transferred   to   Albrechtsberger. 

In  the  pretty  extensive  notes  copied  from  the  memorandum 
book  already  so  much  cited,  there  are  but  two  which  can  with 
any  degree  of  certainty  be  referred  to  a  date  later  than  1793.  One 
of  them  is  this: 

Schuppanzigh,  3  times  a  W.  (Week?) 
Albrechtsberger,    3   times   a    W.    (Week?) 

The  necessary  inference  from  this  is  that  Beethoven  began 
the  year  1794  with  three  lessons  a  week  in  violin-playing  from 
Schuppanzigh  (unless  the  youth  of  the  latter  should  forbid  such 
an  inference)  and  three  in  counterpoint  from  the  most  famous 
teacher  of  that  science.  Seyfried  affirms  that  the  studies  with 
the  latter  continued  "two  complete  years  with  tireless  persistency." 
The  coming  narrative  will  show  that  other  things  took  up  much 
of  Beethoven's  attention  in  1795,  and  that  before  the  close  of  that 
year,  if  not  already  at  its  beginning,  his  course  with  Albrechts- 
berger ended.  1 

The  instruction  which  Beethoven  received  from  Albrechts- 
berger (and  which  was  based  chiefly  on  the  master's  "Anweisung 
zur  Komposition")  began  again  with  simple  counterpoint,  in  which 
Beethoven  now  received  more  detailed  directions  than  had  been 
given  by  Haydn.     Albrechtsberger  wrote  down  rules  for  him, 

'The  investigations  of  Nottebohm.  in  "Beethoven's  Studien"  and  "Beet- 
hoveniana,"  have  been  relied  on  in  the  compilation  of  the  story  of  the  study  under 
Albrechtsberger,  which  takes  the  place  of  the  original  narrative  by  Thayer. 


Stxtoies  with  Albrechtsberger  157 

Beethoven  did  the  same  and  worked  out  a  large  number  of 
exercises  on  two  plain-song  melodies  which  Albrechtsberger  then 
corrected  according  to  the  rules  of  strict  writing.  There  followed 
contrapuntal  exercises  in  free  writing,  in  imitation,  in  two-, 
three-  and  four-part  fugue,  choral  fugue,  double  counterpoint  in 
the  different  intervals,  double  fugue,  triple  counterpoint  and 
canon.  The  last  was  short,  as  here  the  instruction  ceased. 
Beethoven  worked  frequently  in  the  immediate  presence  and 
with  the  direct  cooperation  of  Albrechtsberger.  The  latter 
labored  with  obvious  conscientiousness  and  care,  and  was  ever 
ready  to  aid  his  pupil.  If  he  appears  at  times  to  have  been 
given  over  to  minute  detail  and  conventional  method,  it  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  rigid  schooling  in  fixed  rules  is  essential  to  the 
development  of  an  independent  artist,  even  if  he  makes  no  use  of 
them,  and  that  it  is  only  in  this  manner  that  freedom  in  workman- 
ship can  be  achieved.  Of  this  the  youthful  Beethoven  was  aware 
and  every  line  of  his  exercises  bears  witness  that  he  entered  into 
his  studies  with  complete  interest  and  undivided  zeal.  ^  This  was 
particularly  the  case  in  his  exercises  in  counterpoint  and  imita- 
tion, where  he  strove  to  avoid  errors,  and  their  beneficial  results 
are  plainly  noticeable  in  his  compositions.  Several  of  the  compo- 
sitions written  after  the  lessons,  disclose  how  "he  was  led  from  a 
predominantly  figurative  to  a  more  contrapuntal  manner  of 
writing."  There  is  less  of  this  observable  in  the  case  of  fugue,  in 
which  the  instruction  itself  was  not  free  from  deficiencies;  and  the 
pupil  worked  more  carelessly.  The  restrictive  rules  occasionally 
put  him  out  of  conceit  with  his  work;  "he  was  at  the  age  in  which, 
as  a  rule,  suggestion  and  incitation  are  preferred  to  instruction,'* 
and  his  stubborn  nature  played  an  important  role  in  the  premises. 
However,  it  ought  to  be  added  that  he  was  also  at  an  age  when  his 
genial  aptness  in  invention  and  construction  had  already  found 
exercise  in  other  directions.  Even  though  he  did  not  receive 
thorough  education  in  fugue  from  Albrechtsberger,  he  nevertheless 
learned  the  constituent  elements  of  the  form  and  how  to  apply 
them.  Moreover,  in  his  later  years  he  made  all  these  things  the 
subjects  of  earnest  and  devoted  study  independent  of  otliers;  and 
in  the  compositions  of  his  later  years  he  returned  with  special  and 
manifest  predilection  to  the  fugued  style.  Nothing  could  be  more 
incorrect  than  to  emphasize  Beethoven's  lack  of  theoretical  etluca- 
tion.  If,  while  studying  with  Albrechtsborger,  but  more  particu- 
larly in  his  independent  compositions,  Beethoven  ignored  many 

'Once  Beethoven  writes  an   unprepared  seventh-chord  with  a  suspension  on  the 
margin  of  an  exercise  and  adds  the  query:  "Is  it  allowed?" 


158  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

of  the  strict  rules,  it  was  not  because  he  was  not  able  to  apply 
them,  but  because  he  purposely  set  them  aside.  Places  can  be 
found  in  his  exercises  in  which  the  rules  are  violated;  but  the  testi- 
mony of  the  ear  acquits  the  pupil.  Rules  are  not  the  objects  of 
themselves,  they  do  not  exist  for  their  own  sake,  and  in  despite  of 
all  artistic  systems;  it  is  the  reserved  privilege  of  the  evolution  of 
art-means  and  prescient,  forward  genius  to  point  out  what  in 
them  is  of  permanent  value,  and  what  must  be  looked  upon  as 
antiquated.  Nature  designed  that  Beethoven  should  employ 
music  in  the  depiction  of  soul-states,  to  emancipate  melody  and 
express  his  impulses  in  the  free  forms  developed  by  Ph.  Em.  Bach, 
Mozart,  Haydn  and  their  contemporaries.  In  this  direction  he 
had  already  disclosed  himself  as  a  doughty  warrior  before  the  in- 
struction in  Vienna  had  its  beginning,  and  it  is  very  explicable 
that  to  be  hemmed  in  by  rigid  rules  was  frequently  disagreeable 
to  him.  He  gradually  wearied  of  "creating  musical  skeletons." 
But  all  the  more  worthy  of  recognition,  yea,  of  admiration,  is  the 
fact  that  the  young  composer  who  had  already  mounted  so  high, 
should  by  abnegation  of  his  creative  powers  surrender  himself  to 
the  tyranny  of  the  rules  and  find  satisfaction  in  conscientious 
practice  of  them. 

Nottebohm  summed  up  his  conclusions  from  the  investiga- 
tions which  he  made  of  Beethoven's  posthumous  papers  thus: 
prefacing  that,  after  1785,  Beethoven  more  and  more  made  the 
manner  of  Mozart  his  own,  he  continues: 

The  instruction  which  he  received  from  Haydn  and  Albrechts- 
berger  enriched  him  with  new  forms  and  media  of  expression  and  these 
effected  a  change  in  his  mode  of  writing.  The  voices  acquired  greater 
melodic  flow  and  independence.  A  certain  opacity  took  the  place  of 
the  former  transparency  in  the  musical  fabric.  Out  of  a  homophonic 
polyphony  of  two  or  more  voices,  there  grew  a  polyphony  that  was  real. 
The  earlier  obbligato  accompaniment  gave  way  to  an  obbligato  style 
of  writing  which  rested  to  a  greater  extent  on  counterpoint.  Beethoven 
has  accepted  the  principle  of  polyphony;  his  part-writing  has  become 
purer  and  it  is  noteworthy  that  the  compositions  written  immediately 
after  the  lessons  are  among  the  purest  that  Beethoven  ever  composed. 
True,  the  Mozart  model  still  shines  through  the  fabric,  but  we  seek  it 
less  in  the  art  of  figuration  than  in  the  form  and  other  things  which  are 
only  indirectly  associated  with  the  obbligato  style.  Similarly,  we  can 
speak  of  other  influences — that  of  Joseph  Haydn,  for  instance.  This 
influence  is  not  contrapuntal.  Beethoven  built  upon  his  acquired  and 
inherited  possessions.  He  assimilated  the  traditional  forms  and  means 
of  expression,  gradually  eliminated  foreign  influences  and,  following 
the  pressure  of  his  subjective  nature  with  its  inclination  towards  the 
ideal,  he  created  his  own  individual  style. 


What  Beethoven  Le.\rned  159 

As  is  known,  Seyfried  in  his  book  entitled  "Ludwig  van  Beet- 
hoven's Studien  im  Generalbasse,"  which  appeared  in  1832, 
gathered  together  all  that  was  to  be  found  in  the  way  of  exercises, 
excerpts  from  textbooks,  etc.,  in  Beethoven's  posthumous  papers 
and  presented  them  in  so  confused  and  arbitrary  a  manner  that 
only  the  keenness  and  patience  of  a  Nottebohm  could  point  the 
way  through  the  maze;  Seyfried  would  have  us  believe  that  the 
entire  contents  of  his  book  belonged  to  the  studies  under  Albrechts- 
berger. 

It  will  require  no  waste  of  words,  says  Nottebohm  (p.  198),  to 
prove  the  incompatibility  of  such  a  claim  with  the  results  of  our  investi- 
gations. As  a  matter  of  fact,  only  the  smallest  portion  of  the  "Studies" 
can  be  traced  back  to  the  instruction  which  Beethoven  received  from 
Albrechtsberger.  The  greater  part  had  nothing  to  do  with  this  instruc- 
tion and,  aside  from  the  changes  made,  belongs  to  the  other  labors.  In 
the  smaller  portion  Seyfried  made  things  as  easy  for  himself  as  possible. 
Of  Beethoven's  exercises  he  took  only  such  as  he  found  cleanly  copied  or 
legibly  written,  and  omitted  those  which  were  difficult  to  decipher  because 
of  many  corrections.  This  is  the  explanation  of  the  fact  that  Seyfried 
did  not  include  a  single  exercise  in  strict  simple  counterpoint.  If  all  the 
passages  bearing  on  the  course  followed  under  Albrechtsberger  were 
brought  together  and  all  the  errors  made  in  the  presentation  overlooked, 
we  should  still  have  but  a  fragmentary  and  faulty  reflection  of  that 
study.  Neither  need  we  enter  upon  a  discussion  of  the  marginal  notes 
attributed  to  Beethoven  which  so  plentifully  besprinkle  Seyfried's  book. 
The  fact  is  that  in  all  the  manuscripts  which  belong  to  the  studies  under 
Albrechtsberger  not  one  of  the  "sarcastically  thrown  out"  marginal 
notes  is  to  be  found.  The  glosses  which  do  appear  as  Beethoven's  .... 
are  of  a  wholly  different  character  from  those  printed  by  Seyfried.  They 
show  that  Beethoven  was  deeply  immersed  and  interested  in  the  matter. 
It  would,  indeed,  be  inexplical^le  what  could  have  persuaded  Beethoven 
to  continue  study  with  a  teacher  with  whom,  as  Seyfried  would  have  U3 
believe,  he  was  in  conflict  already  at  the  beginning  of  simple  counter- 
point.    He  had  it  in  his  power  to  discontinue  his  studies  at  any  moment. 

A  doubt  has  })een  hinted  above  whether  Beethoven's  studies 
under  Albrechtsberger  were  continued  beyond  tlie  beginning  of 
the  year  1795.  If  all  these  exerci.ses  in  counterpoint,  fugue  and 
canon,  and  all  those  excerpts  from  Fux,  C.  P.  E.  Bach,  Tiirk, 
Albrechtsberger,  and  Kirnberger,  which  Seyfried  made  the  basis 
of  bis  "Studien" — and  mingled  in  a  confusion  inextricable  by  any 
one  possessing  less  learning,  patience,  sagacity  and  perseverance 
than  Nottebohm — had  already  belonged  to  the  period  of  his  pupil- 
age, their  quantity  alone,  taken  in  connection  with  the  writer's 
other  occupations,  would  indeed  preclude  such  a  doubt;  but 
knowing  that  perhaps  the  greater  portion  of  those  manuscripts 
belongs  to  a  period  many  years  later,  and  considering  the  great 


160  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

facility  in  writing  which  Beethoven  had  already  acquired  before 
coming  to  Vienna,  there  seems  to  be  no  indication  of  any  course 
of  study  which  might  not  easily  be  completed  during  the  one  year 
with  Haydn  (and  Schenk)  and  one  year  with  Albrechtsberger. 
Schonfeld,  in  the  "Jahrbuch  der  Tonkunst  fur  Wien  und  Prag," 
supposes  that  Beethoven  was  still  the  pupil  of  the  latter  at  the 
time  when  he  wrote,  which  was  in  the  spring  of  1795.  His  words 
are:  "An  eloquent  proof  of  his  [Beethoven's]  real  love  of  art  is 
the  circumstance  that  he  has  placed  himself  in  the  hands  of  our 
immortal  Haydn,  in  order  to  be  initiated  into  the  sacred  mysteries 
of  composition.  This  great  master  has,  in  his  absence,  turned 
him  over  to  our  great  Albrechtsberger."  There  is  nothing  decisive 
in  this;  and  yet  it  is  all  that  appears  to  confirm  the  "two  years" 
of  Seyfried;  while  on  the  other  hand  Wegeler,  who,  during  all  the 
year  1795,  was  much  with  Beethoven,  has  nowhere  in  his  "Notizen" 
any  allusion  whatever  to  his  friend  as  being  still  a  student  under 
a  master. 

Referring  to  the  number  of  pages  (160)  of  exercises  and  the 
three  lessons  a  week,  Nottebohm  calculates  the  period  of  instruc- 
tion to  have  been  about  fifteen  months.  Inasmuch  as  among 
the  exercises  in  double  counterpoint  in  the  tenth  there  is  found 
a  sketch  belonging  to  the  second  movement  of  the  Trio,  Op.  1, 
No.  2,  which  Trio  was  advertised  as  finished  on  May  9th,  1795,  it 
follows  that  the  study  was  at  or  near  its  end  at  that  date.  The 
conclusion  of  his  instruction  from  Albrechtsberger  may  there- 
fore be  set  down  at  between  March  and  May,  1795. 

The  third  of  Beethoven's  teachers  in  Vienna  was  the  Imperial 
Chapelmaster  Anton  Salieri;  but  this  instruction  was  neither 
systematic  nor  confined  to  regular  hours.  Beethoven  took  advan- 
tage of  Salieri's  willingness  "to  give  gratuitous  instruction  to 
musicians  of  small  means."  He  wanted  advice  in  vocal  compo- 
sition, and  submitted  to  Salieri  some  settings  of  Italian  songs 
which  the  latter  corrected  in  respect  of  verbal  accent  and  expres- 
sion, rhythm,  metrical  articulation,  subdivision  of  thought,  mood, 
singableness,  and  the  conduct  of  the  melody  which  comprehended 
all  these  things.  Having  himself  taken  the  initiative  in  this, 
Beethoven  devoted  himself  earnestly  and  industriously  to  these 
exercises,  and  they  were  notably  profitable  in  his  creative  work. 
"Thereafter  [also  in  his  German  songs]  he  treated  the  text  with 
much  greater  care  than  before  in  respect  of  its  prosodic  structure, 
as  also  of  its  contents  and  the  prescribed  situation,"  and  acquired 
a  good  method  of  declamation.  That  Salieri's  influence  extended 
beyond  the  period  in  which  Beethoven's  style  developed  itself 


Instruction  From  Salieri  161 

independently  cannot  be  asserted,  since  many  other  and  varied 
influences  made  themselves  felt  later. 

This  instruction  began  soon  after  Beethoven's  arrival  in 
Vienna  and  lasted  in  an  unconstrained  manner  at  least  until  1802; 
at  even  a  later  date  he  asked  counsel  of  Salieri  in  the  composition 
of  songs,  particularly  Italian  songs.  According  to  an  anecdote 
related  by  Czern3%  at  one  of  these  meetings  for  instruction  Salieri 
found  fault  with  a  melody  as  not  being  appropriate  to  the  air.  The 
next  day  he  said  to  Beethoven:  "I  can't  get  your  melody  out  of 
my  head."  "Then,  Herr  von  Salieri,"  replied  Beethoven,  "it 
cannot  have  been  so  utterly  bad."  The  story  may  be  placed  in 
the  early  period;  but  it  appears  from  a  statement  by  Moscheles 
that  Beethoven  still  maintained  an  association  with  Salieri  in 
1809.  Moscheles,  who  was  in  Vienna  at  this  time,  found  a 
note  on  Salieri's  table  which  read:  "The  pupil  Beethoven  was 
here!" 

Ries,  speaking  of  the  relations  between  Haydn,  Albrechts- 
berger  and  Salieri  as  teachers  and  Beethoven  as  pupil,  says:  "I 
knew  them  all  well ;  all  three  valued  Beethoven  highly,  but  were 
also  of  one  mind  touching  his  habits  of  study.  All  of  them  said 
Beethoven  was  so  headstrong  and  self-sufficient  (selbstwollend)  that 
he  had  to  learn  much  through  harsh  experience  which  he  had  re- 
fused to  accept  when  it  was  presented  to  him  as  a  subject  of  study.'* 
Particularly  Alhrechtsberger  and  Salieri  were  of  this  opinion; 
"the  dry  rules  of  the  former  and  the  comparatively  unimportant 
ones  of  the  latter  concerning  dramatic  composition  (according  to 
the  Italian  school  of  the  period)  could  not  appeal  to  Beethoven." 
It  is  now  known  that  the  "dry  rules"  of  Alhrechtsberger  could 
make  a  strong  appeal  to  Beethoven  as  appertaining  to  theoretical 
study,  and  that  the  old  method  of  composition  to  which  he  re- 
mained true  all  his  life  always  had  a  singular  charm  for  him  as  a 
subject  of  study  and  investigation. 

Here,  as  in  many  other  cases,  the  simple  statement  of  the 
difficulties  suggests  their  explanation.  Beethoven  the  pupil  may 
have  honestly  and  conscientiously  followed  the  precepts  of  his 
instructors  in  whatever  he  wrote  in  that  character;  but  Beethoven 
the  composer  stood  upon  his  own  territory,  followed  his  own  tastes 
and  impulses,  wrote  and  wrought  subject  to  no  other  control.  He 
paid  Alhrechtsberger  to  teach  him  counterpoint— not  to  be  the 
censor  and  critic  of  his  compositions.  And  Ries's  memory  may 
well  have  deceived  him  as  to  the  actual  .scope  of  the  .strictures 
made  by  the  old  master,  and  have  transferred  to  the  pupil  what, 
fully  thirty  years  before,  had  been  spoken  of  the  composer. 


16^  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

As  has  been  mentioned,  Beethoven's  relations  with  Salieri 
at  a  hiter  date  were  still  pleasant;  the  composer  dedicated  to  the 
chapelmaster  the  three  violin  sonatas.  Op.  12,  which  appeared  in 
1799.  Nothing  is  known  of  a  dedication  to  Albrechtsberger. 
According  to  an  anecdote  related  by  Albrechtsberger's  grandson 
Hirsch,  Beethoven  called  him  a  "musical  pedant";  yet  we  may 
see  a  remnant  of  gratitude  toward  his  old  teacher  in  Beethoven's 
readiness  to  take  an  interest  in  his  young  grandson. 

We  have  now  to  turn  our  attention  to  Beethoven's  relations 
to  Viennese  society  outside  of  his  study. 


Chapter  XII 


Music  in  Vienna  in  1793 — Theatre,  Church  and  Concert- 
Room — A  Music-Loving  Nobihty — The  Esterhazys, 
Kinsky,  Lichnowsky,  von  Kees  and  van  Swieten — 
Composers:    Haydn,   Kozeluch,   Forster   and   Eberl. 

THE  musical  drama  naturally  took  the  first  place  in  the  musical 
life  of  Vienna  at  tliis  period.  The  enthusiasm  of  Joseph  II  for 
a  national  German  opera,  to  which  the  world  owed  Mozart's 
exquisite  "Entfiihrung,"  proved  to  be  but  short-lived,  and  the 
Italian  opera  huffa  resumed  its  old  place  in  his  affections.  The  new 
company  engaged  was,  however,  equal  to  the  performance  of 
"Don  Giovanni"  and  "Figaro"  and  Salieri's  magnificent  "Axur." 
Leopold  II  reached  Vienna  on  the  evening  of  March  13,  1790,  to 
assume  the  crown  of  his  deceased  brother,  but  no  change  was,  for 
the  present,  made  in  the  court  theatre.  Indeed,  as  late  as  July 
5  he  had  not  entered  a  theatre,  and  his  first  appearance  at  the  opera 
was  at  the  performance  of  'Axur,"  September  21,  in  the  company 
of  his  visitor  King  Ferdinand  of  Naples;  but  once  firmly  settled 
on  the  imperial  throne,  Joseph's  numerous  reforms  successfully 
annulled,  the  Turkish  war  brought  to  a  close  and  his  diverse  coro- 
nations hai)pily  ended,  the  Emperor  gave  his  thoughts  to  the 
theatre.  Salieri,  though  now  but  forty-one  years  of  age,  and  rich 
with  the  observation  and  experience  of  more  than  twenty  years 
in  the  direction  of  the  opera,  was,  according  to  INIosel,  graciously 
allowed,  but  according  to  other  and  better  authorities,  c()m})elled, 
to  witlidraw  from  tlie  oi)eratic  orchestra  and  confine  himself  to 
his  duties  as  director  of  the  sacred  music  in  the  court  chapel  and 
to  the  composition  of  one  operatic  work  annually,  if  recjuired. 
The  "Wiener  Zeitung"  of  January  28,  1792,  records  the  appoint- 
ment of  Joseph  Wcigl,  Salieri's  ])upil  and  assistant,  now  twenty- 
five  years  old,  "as  Chapelniaster  and  Composer  1o  the  Royal 
Imperial  National  Court  Theatre  witli  a  salary  of  1,000  florins." 
The  title  Composer  was  rather  an  empty  one.  Thou/^di  already 
favorably  known  to  the  public,  he  was  forbidden  to  compose  new 

[163] 


1()4  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

operas  for  the  court  stage.  To  this  end  famous  masters  were  to 
be  invited  to  Vienna.  A  first  fruit  of  this  new  order  of  things  was 
the  production  of  Cimarosa's  "II  Matrimonio  segreto,"  February 
7,  179^2,  which  with  good  reason  so  delighted  Leopold  that  he 
gave  tJie  performers  a  supper  and  ordered  them  back  into  the  theatre 
and  heard  the  opera  again  da  capo.  It  was  among  the  last  of  the 
Emperor's  theatrical  pleasures;  he  died  March  1st,  and  his  wife 
on  the  15th  of  May  following.  Thus  for  the  greater  part  of  the 
time  from  March  1  to  May  24,  the  court  theatres  were  shut;  and 
yet  during  the  thirteen  months  ending  December  15,  1792,  Italian 
opera  had  been  given  180  times — 134  times  in  the  Burg  and  46 
times  in  the  Karnthnerthor-Theater — and  ballet  163  times;  so 
that,  as  no  change  for  the  present  was  made,  there  was  abundance 
in  these  branches  of  the  art  for  a  young  composer,  like  Beethoven, 
to  hear  and  see.  All  accounts  agree  that  the  company  then  per- 
forming was  one  of  uncommon  excellence  and  its  performances, 
with  those  of  the  superb  orchestra,  proved  the  value  of  the  long 
experience,  exquisite  taste,  unflagging  zeal  and  profound  knowl- 
edge of  their  recent  head,  Salieri.  Such  as  Beethoven  found  the 
opera  in  the  first  week  of  November,  1792,  such  it  continued  for 
the  next  two  years — exclusively  Italian,  but  of  the  first  order. 

A  single  stroke  of  extraordinary  good  fortune — a  happy 
accident  is  perhaps  a  better  term — had  just  now  given  such  pros- 
perity to  a  minor  theatrical  enterprise  that  in  ten  years  it  was  to 
erect  and  occupy  the  best  playhouse  in  Vienna  and,  for  a  time, 
to  surpass  the  Court  Theatre  in  the  excellence  and  splendor  of  its 
operatic  performances.  We  mean  Schikaneder's  Theater  auf  der 
Wieden;  but  in  1793  its  company  was  mean,  its  house  small,  its 
performances  bad  enough. 

Schikaneder's  chapelmaster  and  composer  was  John  Baptist 
Henneberg;  the  chapelmaster  of  Marinelli,  head  of  another  Ger- 
man company  in  the  Leopoldstadt,  was  Wenzel  Muller,  who 
had  already  begun  his  long  list  of  227  light  and  popular  composi- 
tions to  texts  magical  or  farcical.  Some  two  weeks  after  Beet- 
hoven's arrival  in  Vienna,  on  November  23rd,  Schikaneder  an- 
nounced, falsely,  the  one-hundredth  performance  of  "Die  Zauber- 
flote,"  an  opera  the  success  of  which  placed  his  theatre  a  few  years 
later  upon  a  totally  different  footing,  and  brought  Beethoven  into 
other  relations  to  it  than  those  of  an  ordinary  visitor  indulging 
his  comical  taste,  teste  Seyfried,  for  listening  to  and  heartily 
enjoying  very  bad  music. 

The  leading  dramatic  composers  of  Vienna,  not  yet  named, 
must  receive  a  passing  notice.     Besides  Cimarosa,  who  left  Vienna 


Opera  and  Concerts  in  Vienna  165 

a  few  months  later,  Beethoven  found  Peter  Dutillieu,  a  Frenchman 
by  birth  but  an  Italian  musician  by  education  and  profession, 
engaged  as  composer  for  the  Court  Theatre.  His  "II  Trionfo 
d'Amore"  had  been  produced  there  November  14,  1791,  and  his 
*'Nanerina  e  Padolfino"  had  lately  come  upon  the  stage.  Ignaz 
Umlauf,  composer  of  "Die  schone  Schusterin"  and  other  not  un- 
popular works,  had  the  title  of  Chapelmaster  and  Composer  to 
the  German  Court  Opera,  and  was  Salieri's  substitute  as  chapel- 
master in  the  sacred  music  of  the  Court  Chapel.  Franz  Xavier 
Siissmayr,  so  well  known  from  his  connection  with  Mozart,  was 
just  now  writing  for  Schikaneder's  stage;  Schenk  for  Marinelli's 
and  for  the  private  stages  of  the  nobility;  and  Paul  Wranitzky, 
first  violinist  and  so-called  Musikdirektor  in  the  Court  Theatre, 
author  of  the  then  popular  "Oberon"  composed  for  the  Wieden 
stage,  was  employing  his  very  respectable  talents  for  both  Marinelli 
and    Schikaneder. 

The  church  music  of  Vienna  seems  to  have  been  at  a  very  low 
point  in  1792  and  1793.  Two  composers,  however,  whose  names 
are  still  of  importance  in  musical  history,  were  then  in  that  city 
devoting  themselves  almost  exclusively  to  this  branch  of  the  art; 
Albrechtsberger,  Court  Organist,  but  in  a  few  months  (through 
the  death  of  Leopold  Hoffmann,  March  17,  1793)  to  become 
musical  director  at  St.  Stephen's;  and  Joseph  Eybler  (some  five 
years  older  than  Beethoven),  who  had  just  become  Regens  chori 
in  the  Carmelite  church,  whence  he  was  called  to  a  similar  and 
better  position  in  the  Schottische  Kirche  two  years  later. 

Public  concerts,  as  the  term  is  now  understood,  may  be  said 
not  to  have  existed,  and  regular  subscription  concerts  were  few. 
Mozart  gave  a  few  series  of  them,  but  after  his  death  there  appears 
to  have  been  no  one  of  sufficient  note  in  tlie  musical  world  to 
make  such  a  speculation  remunerative.  Single  subscription  con- 
certs given  by  virtuosos,  and  annual  ones  by  some  of  the  leading 
resident  musicians,  of  course,  took  place  then  as  before  and  since. 
The  only  real  and  regular  concerts  were  tlie  four  annual  perform- 
ances in  the  Burgtheater,  two  at  Christmas  and  two  at  KasU-r, 
for  the  benefit  of  the  musicians'  widows  an<l  orphans.  Tliese 
concerts,  established  mainly  l)y  Gassmann  and  Salieri,  were  never 
exclusive  in  their  programmes — oratorio,  symphony,  cantata,  con- 
certo, whatever  would  add  to  their  attraction,  found  place.  The 
stage  was  covered  with  the  best  musicians  and  vocalists  of  the 
capital  and  the  superb  orchestra  was  eqnally  ready  to  acconipany 
the  playing  of  a  Mozart  or  of  an  ephemeral  Wmidrrkind.  liisKeek 
was  told  ten  years  before  that  tiie  number  taking  part  in  orchestra 


Kit)  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

and  dionis  had  even  then  on  some  occasions  reached  400 — a  state- 
ment, liowever,  which  looks  much  like  exaggeration. 

Very  uncommon  semi-private  concerts  were  still  kept  up  in 
170S.  Tlie  reader  of  Mozart's  biography  will  remember  that  in 
178-2  this  great  composer  joined  a  certain  Martin  in  giving  a  series 
of  concerts  during  the  morning  hours  in  the  Augarten  Hall,  most 
of  the  performers  being  dilettanti  and  the  music  being  furnished 
from  the  library  of  von  Kees.  These  concerts  found  such  favor 
that  they  were  renewed  for  several  years  and  generally  were  twelve 
in  number. 

Ladies  of  even  the  highest  nobility  permitted  themselves  to  be  heard. 
The  auditorium  was  extremely  brilliant  and  everything  was  conducted  in 
so  orderly  and  decent  a  fashion  that  everybody  was  glad  to  support  the 
institute  to  the  best  of  his  energies.  The  receipts  from  the  chief  sub- 
scription were  expended  entirely  on  the  cost  of  the  concerts.  Later 
Herr  Rudolph  assumed  the  direction.     ("Allg.  Mus.  Zeitung,"  III,  45.) 

This  man,  still  young,  and  a  fine  violin-player,  was  the  director 
when  Beethoven  came  to  Vienna,  and  the  extraordinary  spectacle 
was  still  to  be  seen  of  princes  and  nobles  following  his  lead  in  the 
])erformance  of  orchestral  music  to  an  audience  of  their  own  class 
at  the  strange  hours  of  from  6  to  8  in  the  morning ! 

From  the  above  it  appears  that  Vienna  presented  to  the 
young  musician  no  preeminent  advantages  either  in  opera,  church- 
music  or  its  public  concerts.  Other  cities  equalled  the  Austrian 
capital  in  the  first  two,  and  London  was  then  far  in  advance  of  all 
in  the  number,  variety  and  magnificence  of  the  last.  It  was  in 
another  field  that  Vienna  surpassed  every  competitor.  As  Gluck 
twenty  years  before  had  begun  the  great  revolution  in  operatic 
music  completed  by  Mozart,  so  Haydn,  building  on  the  founda- 
tion of  the  Bachs  and  aided  by  Mozart,  was  effecting  a  new  de- 
velopment of  purely  instrumental  music  which  was  yet  to  reach 
its  highest  stage  through  the  genius  and  daring  of  the  youth  now 
his  pupil.  The  example  set  by  the  Austrian  family  through  so 
many  generations  had  produced  its  natural  effect,  and  a  knowl- 
ed^'e  of  and  taste  for  music  were  universal  among  the  princes  and 
nobles  of  the  empire.  Some  of  the  more  wealthy  princes,  like 
Esterhazy,  maintained  musical  establishments  complete  even  to 
the  Italian  opera;  others  were  contented  with  hearing  the  mass 
sung  in  their  house-chapel  to  an  orchestral  accompaniment;  where 
this  was  impossible,  a  small  orchestra  only  was  kept  up,  often  com- 
posed of  the  officials  and  servants,  who  were  selected  with  regard 
to  their  musical  abilities;  and  so  down  to  the  band  of  wind-instru- 
ments, the  string   quartet,  and   even  to   a  single    organ-player, 


Orchestil\s  of  the  Great  Nobles  167 

pianist  or  violinist.  What  has  been  said  in  a  former  chapter  of 
music  as  a  quasi-necessity  at  the  courts  of  the  ecclesiastical  princes, 
applies  in  great  measure  to  the  secular  nobility.  At  their  castles 
and  country-seats  in  the  summer,  amusement  was  to  be  provided 
for  many  an  otherwise  tedious  hour;  and  in  their  city  residences 
during  the  winter  they  and  their  guests  could  not  always  feast, 
dance  or  play  at  cards;  and  here,  too,  music  became  a  common  and 
favored  recreation.  At  all  events,  it  was  the  fashion.  Outside 
the  ranks  of  the  noble-born,  such  as  by  talents,  high  culture  or 
wealth  occupied  high  social  positions,  followed  the  example  and 
opened  their  salons  to  musicians  and  lovers  of  music,  moved  there- 
to for  the  most  part  by  a  real,  rarely  by  a  pretended,  taste  for  the 
art — in  either  case  aiding  and  encouraging  its  progress.  Hence,  an 
enormous  demand  for  chamber  music,  both  vocal  and  instrumental, 
especially  the  latter.  The  demand  created  the  supply  by  encour- 
aging genius  and  talent  to  labor  in  that  direction;  and  tluis  the 
Austrian  school  of  instrumental  music  soon  led  the  world,  as  in  the 
previous  generation  the  demand  for  oratorios  in  England  gave  that 
country  the  supremacy  in  that  branch  of  art. 

During  certain  months  of  the  year,  Vienna  was  filled  with  the 
greatest  nobles,  not  only  of  the  Austrian  states,  but  of  other  por- 
tions of  the  German  Empire.  Those  who  spent  their  time  mostly 
in  their  own  small  courts  came  up  to  the  capital  but  for  a  short 
season;  others  reversed  this,  making  the  city  their  usual  residence 
and  visiting  their  estates  only  in  summer.  By  the  former  class 
many  a  once  (if  not  still)  famous  composer  in  their  service  was  thus 
occasionally  for  short  periods  brought  to  the  metropolis — us 
Mozart  by  the  brutal  Archl)isliop  of  Salzburg,  and  Haydn  by 
Prince  Esterhazy.  By  the  latter  class  many  of  the  distinguished 
composers  and  virtuosos  resident  in  the  city  were  taken  into  the 
country  during  the  summer  to  be  treated  as  equals,  to  live  like 
gentlemen  among  gentlemen.  Another  mode  of  encounigiiig  tlie 
art  was  the  ordering  or  purchasing  of  conij)Ositions;  and  tJiis  not 
only  from  conij)os('rs  of  establislicd  reputation,  as  Haydn,  INIozart, 
C.  P.  K.  Bach,  but  also  from  young  and  as  yet  unknown  men;  thus 
affording  a  twofold  benefit — pecuniary  aid  and  an  opportunity  of 
exhibiting  their  powers. 

The  instrumental  virtuosos,  when  not  permanently  engaged 
in  the  service  of  some  prince  or  theatre,  looked  in  the  main  for  the 
reward  of  their  studies  and  labors  to  the  private  concerts  of  the 
nobility.  If  at  the  same  time  tJiey  were  conii)os('rs,  it  was  in  sucli 
concerts  that  they  brought  their  product  ions  to  a  hearing.  'l\w. 
reader  of  Jahn's  biography  of  Mozart  will  remember  how  much 


1(38  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

even  he  depended  upon  this  resource  to  gain  the  means  of  support 
for  himself  and  family.  Out  of  London,  even  so  late  as  1793,  there 
can  hardly  be  said  to  have  existed  a  "musical  public,"  as  the  term 
is  now  understood,  and  in  Vienna  at  least,  with  its  200,000  inhabi- 
tants, a  virtuoso  rarely  ventured  to  announce  a  concert  to  which 
he  had  not  already  a  subscription,  sufficient  to  ensure  him  against 
loss,  from  those  at  whose  residences  he  had  successfully  exhibited 
his  skill.  Beethoven,  remaining  "in  Vienna  without  salary  until 
recalled"  by  Max,  found  in  these  resources  and  his  pupils  an  ample 

income. 

But  this  topic  requires  something  more  than  the  above  gen- 
eral remarks.  Some  twelve  years  previous  to  Beethoven's  coming 
to  Vienna,  Risbeck,  speaking  of  the  art  in  that  capital,  had  written: 

^Musicians  are  the  only  ones  (artists)  concerning  whom  the  nobility 
exhibit  taste.  Many  houses  maintain  private  bands  for  their  own  delec- 
tation, and  all  the  public  concerts  prove  that  this  field  of  art  stands  in 
high  respect.  It  is  possible  to  enlist  four  or  five  large  orchestras  here, 
all  of  them  incomparable.  The  number  of  real  virtuosos  is  small,  but 
as  regards  the  orchestral  musicians  scarcely  anything  more  beautiful 
is  to  be  heard  in  the  world. 

How  many  such  orchestras  were  still  kept  up  in  1792-'93  it 
is,  probably,  now  impossible  to  determine.  Those  of  Princes  Lob- 
kowitz,  Schwarzenberg  and  Auersperg  may  safely  be  named. 
Count  Heinrich  von  Haugwitz  and  doubtless  Count  Batthyany 
brought  their  musicians  with  them  when  they  came  to  the  capital 
for  "the  season."  The  Esterhazy  band,  dismissed  after  the  death 
of  Haydn's  old  master,  seems  not  yet  to  have  been  renewed.  Prince 
Grassalkowitz  (or  Kracsalkowitz)  had  reduced  his  to  a  band  of 
eight  wind-instruments — oboes,  clarinets,  bassoons,  horns — a  kind 
of  organization  then  much  in  vogue.  Baron  Braun  had  one  to 
play  at  dinner  as  at  the  supper  in  "Don  Giovanni" — an  accessory 
to  tlie  scene  which  Mozart  introduced  out  of  his  own  frequent 
experience.  Prince  Karl  Lichnowsky  and  others  retained  their 
own  players  of  string  quartets. 

The  grandees  of  the  Bohemian  and  Moravian  capitals — 
Kinsky,  Clamm,  Nostiz,  Thun,  Buquoi,  Hartig,  Salm-Pachta, 
Sporck,  FUnfkirchen,  etc. — emulated  the  Austrian  and  Hungarian 
nobles.  As  many  of  them  had  palaces  also  in  Vienna,  and  most, 
if  not  all,  spent  part  of  the  year  there,  bringing  with  them  a  few 
of  the  more  skilful  members  of  their  orchestras  to  execute  chamber 
music  and  for  the  nucleus  of  a  band  when  symphonies,  concertos 
and  grand  vocal  works  were  to  be  executed,  they  also  added 
their  contingent  to  the  musical  as  well  as  to  the  political  and 


Titled  Music-Lovers  in  Vienna  169 

fashionable  life  of  the  metropolis.  The  astonishingly  fruitful  last 
eight  years  of  Mozart's  life  falling  within  the  period  now  under 
contemplation,  contributed  to  musical  literature  compositions  won- 
derfully manifold  in  character  and  setting  an  example  tliat  forced 
other  composers  to  leave  the  beaten  track.  Haydn  had  just  re- 
turned from  his  first  stay  in  London,  enriched  with  the  pregnant 
experience  acquired  during  that  visit.  Van  Swieten  had  gained 
during  his  residence  in  Berlin  appreciation  of  and  love  for  the  works 
of  Handel,  Bach  and  their  schools,  and  since  his  return  to  Vienna, 
about  1778,  had  exerted,  and  was  still  exerting,  a  very  powerful 
and  marked  influence  upon  Vienna's  musical  taste. 

Thus  all  the  conditions  precedent  for  the  elevation  of  the  art 
were  just  at  this  time  fulfilled  at  Vienna,  and  in  one  department — 
that  of  instrumental  music — they  existed  in  a  degree  unknown  in 
any  other  city.  The  extraordinary  results  as  to  the  quantity  pro- 
duced in  those  years  may  be  judged  from  the  sale-catalogue  (1779) 
of  a  single  music-dealer,  Johann  Traeg,  which  gives  of  symphonies, 
symphonies-concertantes  and  overtures  (the  last  being  in  a  small 
minority)  the  extraordinary  number  of  512.  The  music  produced 
at  private  concerts  given  by  the  nobility  ranged  from  the  grand 
oratorios,  operas,  symphonies,  down  to  variations  for  the  pianoforte 
and  to  simple  songs.  Leading  musicians  and  composers,  whose 
circumstances  admitted  of  it,  also  gave  private  concerts  at  which 
they  made  themselves  and  their  works  known,  and  to  whicli  their 
colleagues  were  invited.  Prince  Lobkowitz,  at  the  time  Beet- 
hoven reached  Vienna,  was  a  young  man  of  twenty  years.  He  was 
born  on  December  7,  1772,  and  had  just  married,  on  August  2, 
a  daughter  of  Prince  Schwarzenberg.  He  was  a  violinist  of  con- 
siderable powers  and  so  devoted  a  lover  of  music  and  the  drama, 
so  profuse  a  squanderer  of  his  income  upon  thorn,  as  in  twenty 
years  to  reduce  himself  to  bankruptcy.  Precisely  Beethoven's 
supposed  age,  the  aristocrat  of  wealth  and  power  and  the  aristo- 
crat of  talent  and  genius  l)ecame  exceedingly  intimate,  occasionally 
quarrelling  and  making  up  their  differences  as  if  belonging  by  birth 
to  the  same  sphere. 

The  reigning  Prince  Esterhazy  was  that  Paul  Anton  who, 
after  the  death  of  liis  father  on  February  25,  1790,  })roke  up  the 
musical  estal)lishment  at  Esterhaz  and  gave  Ilaychi  relief  from  liis 
thirty  years  of  service.  He  died  on  January  22,  1794,  and  was 
succeeded  l)y  his  son  Nicholas,  a  young  m.-in  just  five  ye.-irs  older 
than  Beetlioven.  Prince  Nieliolas  inherited  liis  grandfather's 
taste  for  nnisic,  reengaged  an  orchestra,  and  soon  beeaine  known 
as  one  of  the  most  zealous  promoters  of  Roman  Catholic  church- 


170  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

music.  The  best  composers  of  Vienna,  including  Beethoven, 
wrote  masses  for  the  chapel  at  Esterhaz,  where  they  were  performed 
with  great  splendor. 

Count  Johann  Nepomuk  Esterhazy,  "of  the  middle  line  zu 
Frakno,"  was  a  man  of  forty-five  years,  a  good  performer  upon  the 
oboe,  and  (which  is  much  to  his  credit)  had  been  a  firm  friend  and 
patron  of  Mozart. 

Of  Count  Franz  Esterhazy,  a  man  of  thirty-five  years,  Schon- 
feld,  in  his  ''Jahrbuch  der  Tonkunst,"  thus  speaks:  "This  great 
friend  of  music  at  certain  times  of  the  year  gives  large  and  splendid 
concerts  at  which,  for  the  greater  part,  large  and  elevated  compo- 
sitions are  performed — particularly  the  choruses  of  Handel,  the 
'Sanctus'  of  Emanuel  Bach,  the  'Stabat  Mater'  of  Pergolese,  and 
the  like.  At  these  concerts  there  are  always  a  number  of  the  best 
virtuosos." 

It  was  not  the  present  Prince  Joseph  Kinsky  (who  died  in 
1798  in  his  forty-eighth  year)  who  at  a  later  period  became  a  dis- 
tinguished patron  of  Beethoven,  but  his  son  Ferdinand  Johann 
Nepomuk,  then  a  bright  boy  of  eleven  years,  born  on  December 
4,  1781,  upon  whose  youthful  taste  the  strength,  beauty  and 
novelty  of  that  composer's  works  made  a  deep  impression.  Prince 
Carl  Lichnowsky,  the  pupil  and  friend  of  Mozart,  had  a  quartet 
concert  at  his  dwelling  every  Friday  morning.  The  regularly 
engaged  musicians  were  Ignaz  Schuppanzigh,  son  of  a  professor 
in  the  Real-Schule,  and  a  youth  at  this  time  of  sixteen  years  (if 
the  musical  lexica  are  to  be  trusted),  first  violin;  Louis  Sina,  pupil 
of  Forster,  also  a  very  young  man,  second  violin;  Franz  Weiss, 
who  completed  his  fifteenth  year  on  January  18,  1793,  viola;  and 
Anton  Kraft,  or  his  son  Nicholas,  a  boy  of  fourteen  years  (born 
December  18,  1778),  violoncello.  It  was,  in  fact,  a  quartet  of 
boy  virtuosos,  of  whom  Beethoven,  several  years  older,  could  make 
what  he  would. 

The  Prince's  wife  was  Marie  Christine,  twenty  years  of  age, 
one  of  those  "Three  Graces,"  as  Georg  Forster  called  them, 
daughters  of  that  Countess  Thun  in  whose  house  Mozart  had  found 
such  warm  friendship  and  appreciation,  and  whose  noble  qualities 
are  so  celebrated  by  Burney,  Reichardt  and  Forster.  The  Princess, 
as  well  as  her  husband,  belonged  to  the  better  class  of  amateur 
performers  upon  the  pianoforte. 

Court  Councillor  von  Kees,  Vice-President  of  the  Court  of 
Appeals  of  Lower  Austria,  was  still  living.  He  was,  says  Gyrowetz, 
speaking  of  a  period  a  few  years  earlier,  "recognized  as  the  fore- 
most music-lover  and  dilettante  in  Vienna;  and  twice  a  week  he 


Van  Sweeten  axd  His  Influence  171 

gave  in  his  house  society  concerts  at  which  were  gathered  together 
the  foremost  virtuosos  of  Vienna,  and  the  first  composers,  such  as 
Joseph  Haydn,  Mozart,  Dittersdorf,  Hoffraeister,  Albrechtsberger, 
Giarnovichi  and  so  on,  Haydn's  symphonies  were  played  there." 
In  Haydn's  letters  to  Madame  Genzinger  the  name  of  von  Kees 
often  occurs — the  last  time  in  a  note  of  August  4,  1792,  which 
mentions  that  the  writer  is  that  day  to  dine  with  the  Court  Coun- 
cillor. This  distinguished  man  left  on  his  death  (January  5,  1795) 
a  very  extensive  collection  of  music. 

Gottfried,  Freiherr  van  Swieten,  son  of  Maria  Theresia's 
famous  Dutch  physician,  says  Schonfeld,  is, 

as  it  were,  looked  upon  as  a  patriarch  of  music.  He  has  taste  only  for 
the  great  and  exalted.  He  himself  many  years  ago  composed  twelve 
beautiful  symphonies  ("stiff  as  himself,"  said  Haydn).  When  he  attends 
a  concert  our  semi-connoisseurs  never  take  their  eyes  off  him,  seeking  to 
read  in  his  features,  not  always  intelligible  to  every  one,  what  ought  to  be 
their  opinion  of  the  music.  Every  year  he  gives  a  few  large  and  brilliant 
concerts  at  which  only  music  by  the  old  masters  is  performed.  His  prefer- 
ence is  for  the  Handelian  manner,  and  he  generally  has  some  of  Handel's 
great  choruses  performed.  As  late  as  last  Christmas  (1794)  he  gave  such 
a  concert  at  Prince  von  Paar's,  at  which  an  oratorio  by  this  master  was 
performed. 

Neukomm  told  Prof.  Jahn  that  in  concerts,  "if  it  chanced  that 
a  whispered  conversation  began.  His  Excellency,  who  was  in  the 
habit  of  sitting  in  the  first  row  of  seats,  would  rise  solemnly,  draw 
himself  up  to  his  full  height,  turn  to  the  culprits,  fix  a  long  and 
solemn  gaze  upon  them,  and  slowly  resume  his  chair.  It  was 
effective,  always."  He  had  some  peculiar  notions  of  composition; 
he  was,  for  instance,  fond  of  imitations  of  natural  sounds  in  music 
and  forced  upon  Haydn  the  imitation  of  frogs  in  "The  Seasons." 
Haydn  himself  says: 

This  entire  passage  in  imitation  of  a  frog  did  not  flow  from  my 
pen.  I  was  constrained  to  write  down  the  French  croak.  At  an  orches- 
tral performance  tliis  wretched  coiKcit  soon  disappears,  but  it  cannot 
be  justified  in  a  pianoforte  score.  Let  the  critics  be  not  too  severe  on 
me.     I  am  an  old  man  and  cannot  revise  all  this  again. 

But  to  van  Swieten,  surely,  is  due  the  credit  of  having  founded 
in  Vienna  a  taste  for  HandcFs  oratorios  and  IJach's  organ  and 
pianoforte  music,  thus  adding  a  new  clement  to  the  music  there. 
The  costs  of  tlie  oratorio  j>erformances  were  not,  however,  defrayed 
by  him,  as  Schonfeld  seems  to  intimate.  They  were  met  by  the 
association  called  by  him  into  being,  and  of  which  he  was  perpet- 
ual secretary,   whose  members   were  the  Princes   Liechtenstein, 


172  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

Esterhazy,  Scliwarzenberg,  Auersperg,  Kinsky,  Trautmannsdorf, 
Sinsendorf,  and  the  Counts  Czernin,  Harrach,  Erdody  and  Fries; 
at  wliose  palaces  as  well  as  in  van  Swieten's  house  and  sometimes 
in  the  great  hall  of  the  Imperial  Royal  Library  the  performances 
wore  given  at  midday  to  an  audience  of  invited  guests.  Fraulein 
Martinez,  who  holds  so  distinguished  a  place  in  Burney's  account 
of  his  visit  to  Vienna — that  pupil  of  Porpora  at  whose  music-lessons 
the  young  Joseph  Haydn  forty  years  before  had  been  employed 
as  accompanist — still  flourished  in  the  Michael's  House  and  gave 
a  musical  party  every  Saturday  evening  during  the  season. 

Court  Councillor  and  Chamber  Paymaster  von  Meyer  (says  Schon- 
fcld)  is  so  excellent  a  lover  of  music  that  his  entire  personnel  in  the  chan- 
cellary  is  musical,  among  them  being  such  artists  as  a  Raphael  and  a 
Hauschka.  It  will  readily  be  understood,  therefore,  that  here  in  the 
city  as  well  as  at  his  country-seat  there  are  many  concerts.  His  Majesty 
the  Emperor  himself  has  attended  some  of  these  concerts. 

These  details  are  sufficient  to  illustrate  and  confirm  the  re- 
marks made  above  upon  Vienna  as  the  central  point  of  instru- 
mental music.  Of  the  great  number  of  composers  in  that  branch 
of  the  art  whom  Beethoven  found  there,  a  few  of  the  more  eminent 
must  V)e  named. 

Of  course,  Haydn  stood  at  the  head.  The  next  in  rank — 
longo  intervallo — was  Mozart's  successor  in  the  oflBce  of  Imperial 
Chamber  Composer,  Leopold  Kozeluch,  a  Bohemian,  now  just 
forty  years  of  age.  Though  now  forgotten  and,  according  to 
Beethoven,  "miserabilis,"  he  was  renowned  throughout  Europe  for 
his  fjuartets  and  other  chamber  music.  A  man  of  less  popular 
repute  but  of  a  solid  genius  and  acquirements  far  beyond  those  of 
Kozeluch,  whom  Beethoven  greatly  respected  and  twenty-five 
years  later  called  his  "old  master,"  was  Emanuel  Aloys  Forster,  a 
Silesian,  now  forty-five  years  of  age.  His  quintets,  quartets  and 
the  like  ranked  very  high,  but  at  that  time  were  known  for  the 
most  part  only  in  manuscript.  Anton  Eberl,  five  years  the  senior 
of  Beethoven,  a  Viennese  by  birth,  had  composed  two  operettas 
in  the  sixteenth  year  of  his  age  which  were  produced  at  the  Karnth- 
nertlior-Theater,  one  of  which  gained  the  young  author  the  favor 
of  Gluck.  He  seems  to  have  been  a  favorite  of  Mozart  and 
caught  so  much  of  the  spirit  and  style  of  that  master  as  to  produce 
compositions  which  were  printed  by  dishonest  publishers  under 
Mozart's  name,  and  as  his  were  sold  throughout  Europe.  In  1776 
he  accompanied  the  Widow  Mozart  and  her  sister,  Madame  Lange, 
the  vocalist,  in  the  tour  through  Germany,  gaining  that  reputation 
in  other  cities  which  he  enjoyed  at  home,  both  as  pianist  and 


Famous  Composers  in  Vienna  173 

composer.  His  force  was  in  instrumental  composition,  and  we 
shall  hereafter  see  him  for  a  moment  as  a  symphonist  bearing 
aw^ay  the  palm  from  Beethoven ! 

Johann  Vanhall,  w^hose  name  was  so  well  known  in  Paris  and 
London  that  Biirney,  twenty  years  before,  sought  him  out  in  his 
garret  in  a  suburb  of  Vienna,  was  as  indefatigable  as  ever  in  pro- 
duction. Gerber  says  in  his  first  Lexicon  (1792)  that  Breitkopf 
and  Hartel  had  then  fifty  of  his  symphonies  in  manuscript.  His 
fecundity  was  equal  to  that  of  Haydn;  his  genius  such  that  all  his 
works  are  now  forgotten.     It  is  needless  to  continue  this  list. 

One  other  fact  illustrating  the  musical  tastes  and  accomplish- 
ments of  the  higher  classes  of  the  capital  may  be  added.  There 
were,  during  the  winter  1792-93,  ten  private  theatres  with  amateur 
companies  in  activity,  of  which  the  more  important  were  in  the 
residences  of  the  nobles  Stockhammer,  Kinsky,  Sinsendorf  and 
Strassaldo,  and  of  the  bookseller  Schrambl.  Most  of  these  com- 
panies produced  operas  and  operettas. 


Chapter  XIII 

Beethoven  in  Society— Concerts— Wegeler's  Recollections- 
Compositions— The  First  Trios— Sonatas  Dedicated  to 
Haydn— Variations— Dances  for  the  Ridotto  Rooms- 
Plays  at  Haydn's  Concert. 

HOWE\^R  quiet  and  "without  observation"  Beethoven*s 
advent  in  Vienna  may  have  been  at  that  time  when  men's 
minds  were  occupied  by  movements  of  armies  and  ideas  of 
revolution,  he  could  hardly  have  gone  thither  under  better  auspices. 
He  was  Court  Organist  and  Pianist  to  the  Emperor's  uncle;  his 
talents  in  that  field  were  well  known  to  the  many  Austrians  of  rank 
who  had  heard  him  in  Bonn  when  visiting  there  or  when  paying 
their  respects  to  the  Elector  in  passing  to  and  from  the  Austrian 
Netherlands;  he  was  a  pupil  of  Joseph  Haydn— a  circumstance  in 
itself  sufficient  to  secure  him  a  hearing;  and  he  was  protected  by 
Count  Waldstein,  whose  family  connections  were  such  that  he  could 
introduce  his  favorite  into  the  highest  circles,  the  imperial  house 
only  excepted.  Waldstein's  mother  was  a  Liechtenstein;  his  grand- 
mother a  Trautmannsdorf;  three  of  his  sisters  had  married  re- 
spectively into  the  families  Dietrichstein,  Crugenburg  and  Wallis; 
and  by  the  marriages  of  uncles  and  aunts  he  was  connected 
with  the  great  houses  Oettingen-Spielberg,  Khevenhuller-Melisch, 
Kinsky,  Palfy  von  Erdod  and  Ulfeld — not  to  mention  others  less 
known.  If  the  circle  be  extended  by  a  degree  or  two  it  embraces 
the  names  Kaunitz,  Lobkowitz,  Kohary,  Flinfkirchen,  Keglevics 
and  Colloredo-Mansfeld. 

Dr.  Burney,  in  closing  his  "Present  State  of  Music  in  Ger- 
many," notes  the  distinction  rh  the  styles  of  composition  and  per- 
formance in  some  of  the  principal  cities  of  that  country,  "Vienna 
being  most  remarkable  for  fire  and  animation;  Mannheim  for 
neat  and  brilliant  execution;  Berlin  for  counterpoint  and  Bruns- 
wick for  taste."  Since  Burney's  tour  (1772)  Vienna  had  the 
highest  example  of  all  these  qualities  united  in  Mozart.  But  he 
had  passed  away,  and  no  great  pianist  of  the  first  rank  remained; 

[174] 


The  Three  Trios,  Op.  1  175 

there  were  extraordinary  dilettanti  and  professional  pianists  "of 
very  neat  and  brilliant  execution,"  but  none  who  possessed  great 
"fire,  animation  and  invention,"  qualities  still  most  valued  in 
Vienna  and  in  which  the  young  Beethoven,  with  all  the  hardness 
and  heaviness  of  manipulation  caused  by  his  devotion  to  the  organ, 
was  wholly  unrivalled.  With  all  the  salons  in  the  metropolis  open 
to  him,  his  success  as  a  virtuoso  was,  therefore,  certain.  All  the 
contemporary  authorities,  and  all  the  traditions  of  those  years, 
agree  in  the  fact  of  that  success,  and  that  his  playing  of  Bach's 
preludes  and  fugues  especially,  his  reading  of  the  most  diflBcult 
scores  at  sight  and  his  extemporaneous  performances  excited  ever 
new  wonder  and  delight.  Schindler  records  that  van  Swieten, 
after  musical  performances  at  his  house,  "detained  Beethoven  and 
persuaded  him  to  add  a  few  fugues  by  Sebastian  Bach  as  an  evening 
blessing,"  and  he  preserves  a  note  without  date,  though  evidently 
belonging  to  Beethoven's  first  years  in  Vienna,  which  proves  how 
high  a  place  the  young  man  had  then  won  in  the  old  gentleman's 
favor : 

To  Mr.  Beethoven  in  Alstergasse,  No.  45,  with  the  Prince  Lichnow- 
sky:  If  there  is  nothing  to  hinder  next  Wednesday  I  should  be  glad  to 
see  you  at  my  home  at  half  past  8  with  your  nightcap  in  your  bag.  Give 
me  an  immediate  answer. 

Swieten. 

There  is  also  an  entry  in  the  oft-cited  memorandum  book 
belonging  in  date  to  October  or  November,  1793,  which  may  be 
given  in  this  connection:  "Supped  in  the  evening  at  Swieten's, 
17  pourboire.     To  the  janitor  4  x  for  opening  the  door." 

But  the  instant  and  striking  success  of  Beethoven  as  virtuoso 
by  no  means  filled  up  the  measure  of  his  ambition.  He  aspired 
to  the  higher  position  of  composer,  and  to  obtain  this  more  was 
needed  than  the  performance  of  variations,  however  excellent.  To 
this  end  he  selected  the  three  Trios  afterwards  pul)lished  as  Oj).  1, 
and  brought  them  to  performance  at  the  house  of  Prince 
Lichnowsky.  Ilapi)ily  for  us,  Beethoven  related  some  j)articiilar.s 
concerning  this  first  performance  of  these  com[)ositions  in  Vienna 
to  his  pupil  Hies,  who  gives  the  substance  of  the  story  thus: 

It  was  planned  to  introduce  the  first  tlirec  Trios  of  H<'cthovcn,  which 
were  about  to  be  published  as  ()[).  1,  to  the  artistic  world  at  a  soin'e  at 
prince  Lichnowsky's.  Most  of  tin-  artists  and  music-lovers  were  invited, 
especially  Haydn,  for  whose  ojjinion  all  were  eai,'cr.  The  Trios  were 
played  and  at  once  commanded  extraordiruiry  attention.  Haydn  also 
said  many  pretty  things  about  tlieni,  but  ;i(lvis«'(|  lieeflioven  not  to  [)ub- 
lish  the  third,  in  C  minor.     This  astonished  Beethoven,  inasmuch  as 


170  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

he  considered  the  third  the  best  of  the  Trios,  as  it  is  still  the  one  which 
pives  tlie  jireatest  i)leasure  and  makes  the  greatest  effect.  Consequently, 
Haytin's  remark  left  a  bad  impression  on  Beethoven  and  led  him  to 
think  that  Haydn  was  envious,  jealous  and  ill-disposed  toward  him.  I 
confess  that  when  Beethoven  told  me  of  this  I  gave  it  little  credence.  I 
therefore  took  occasion  to  ask  Haydn  himself  about  it.  His  answer, 
however,  confirmed  Beethoven's  statement;  he  said  he  had  not  believed 
that  this  Trio  would  so  quickly  and  easily  be  understood  and  so  favor- 
ably received  by  the  public. 

The  FischofT  manuscript  says: 

The  three  Trios  for  pianoforte,  violin  and  violoncello.  Op.  1  (the 
pearls  of  all  sonatas),  which  are  in  fact  his  sixth  work,  justly  excited  admir- 
ation, though  they  were  performed  in  only  a  few  circles.  Wherever  this 
was  done,  however,  connoisseurs  and  music-lovers  bestowed  upon  them 
undivided  applause,  which  grew  with  the  succeeding  works  as  the  hearers 
not  only  accustomed  themselves  to  the  striking  and  original  qualities 
of  the  master  but  grasped  his  spirit  and  strove  for  the  high  privilege  of 
understanding  him. 

More  than  two  years  passed  by,  however,  before  the  composer 
thought  fit  to  send  these  Trios  to  the  press;  perhaps  restrained 
by  a  feeling  of  modesty,  since  he  was  still  a  student,  perhaps  by  a 
doubt  as  to  the  success  of  compositions  so  new  in  style,  or  by  pru- 
dence, choosing  to  delay  their  publication  until  they  had  been  so 
often  performed  from  the  manuscript  as  to  secure  their  compre- 
hension and  appreciation,  and  thus  an  adequate  number  of  sub- 
scribers. In  the  meantime  he  prepared  the  way  for  them  by 
publishing  a  few  sets  of  variations.  "Beethoven  had  composed 
variations  on  themes  from  Mozart's  'Zauberflote,'  which  he  had 
already  sketched  in  Bonn,  and  Zmeskall  took  it  upon  himself  to 
submit  them  to  a  publisher;  but  they  had  only  a  small  sale." 
(The  Fischoff  MS.)  This  refers  doubtless  to  the  Variations  "Se 
vuol  ballare"  from  "Le  Nozze  di  Figaro,"  which,  having  been  re- 
vised and  improved  by  a  new  coda,  came  out  in  July,  1793,  with 
a  dedication  to  Eleonore  von  Breuning.  It  was  not  until  the  next 
year  that  the  thirteen  variations  upon  the  theme  "Es  war  einmal 
ein  alter  Mann,"  from  Dittersdorf's  "Rothkappchen,"  appeared, 
and  these  were  followed  by  those  for  four  hands  on  the  Waldstein 
theme,  first  advertised  in  January,  1795. 

In  fact,  Beethoven  evidently  was  in  no  haste  to  publish  his 
compositions.  It  will  presently  be  seen  that  he  sent  the  "Se  vuol 
ballare"  variations  to  press  partly  at  the  request  of  others  and 
partly  to  entrap  the  rival  pianists  of  Vienna.  A  few  years  later 
we  shall  find  him  dashing  off  and  immediately  publishing  varia- 
tions on  popular  theatrical  melodies;  but  works  of  greater  scope, 


Beethoven  Sues  for  Pardon        177 

and  especially  his  pianoforte  concertos,  were  for  the  most  part 
long  retained  in  his  exclusive  possession.  Thus  the  Pianoforte 
Concerto  in  B-flat  major.  Op.  18,  though  supposed  by  Tomaschek 
to  have  been  composed  at  Prague  in  1798,  certainly  (if  Beethoven's 
own  words  in  a  letter  to  Breitkopf  and  Hartel  are  to  be  believed) 
preceded  in  composition  thatin  C  major.  Op.  15,  and  must, therefore, 
have  been  finished  at  the  latest  in  March,  1795,  and  was  doubtless 
often  played  by  him  at  private  concerts  during  the  period  now 
before  us.     It  was  not  published  until  1801. 

Let  the  reader  now  recall  to  mind  some  of  the  points  pre- 
viously dwelt  upon:  the  Fischenich  letter  of  January  and  Neefe's 
letter  of  October,  1793,  which  record  the  favorable  reports  sent 
to  Bonn  of  Beethoven's  musical  progress;  his  studies  with  Haydn 
and  Schenk;  the  cares  and  perplexities  caused  him  temporarily 
by  the  death  of  his  father,  and  the  unpleasant  circumstances 
attending  that  event;  his  steady  success  as  a  virtuoso;  his  visit 
in  the  summer  to  Prince  Esterhazy;  and  it  is  obvious  with  what 
industry  and  energy  he  engaged  in  his  new  career,  with  what  zeal 
and  unfaltering  activity  he  labored  to  make  the  most  of  his 
opportunities.  In  one  year  after  leaving  Bonn  he  felt  his  success 
secure,  and  no  longer  feared  Hamlet's  "slings  and  arrows  of  out- 
rageous fortune."  This  is  indicated  in  a  passage  ("O,  how  we 
shall  then  rejoice  together, "etc.)  of  the  earliest  of  his  Vienna  letters 
which  has  been  preserved — that  letter  in  which,  as  Wegeler  re- 
marks, "he  asked  pardon  for  much  more  error  than  he  had  com- 
mitted," and  which,  though  often  reprinted  from  the  "Notizen," 
is  too  important  and  characteristic  to  be  here  omitted. 

Vienna,  November  2,  93. 

Most  estimable  Leonore! 

My  most  precious  friend! 

Not  until  I  have  lived  almost  a  year  in  the  capital  do  you 
receive  a  letter  from  me,  and  yet  you  were  most  assuredly  pc'rjxhiiilly 
in  ray  liveliest  memory.  Often  in  thou<^ht  I  have  conversed  with  you 
and  your  dear  family,  thouj^h  not  with  that  peace  of  mind  which  I  could 
have  desired.  It  was  then  that  the  wrctciied  misundcrstandinf;  ho\cred 
before  me  and  my  conduct  presented  itself  as  most  despicable.  IJutit 
was  too  late.  O,  what  would  I  not  give  could  I  o))Hterale  from  my  life 
those  actions  so  degrading  to  myself  and  so  contrary  to  my  character. 
True,  there  were  many  circumstances  which  tciuK'd  to  estrange  us,  and  I 
suspect  that  tales  whispered  in  our  ears  of  remarks  made  one  about  the 
other  were  chiefly  that  which  prevented  us  from  coming  to  an  und<'r- 
standing.  We  both  believed  that  we  were  speaking  from  conviction; 
whereas  it  was  only  in  anger,  and  we  were  both  deceived.  Your  good 
and  noble  character,  my  dear  friend,  is  sufficient  assurance  to  me  that 
you  forgave  me  long  ago.     But  we  are  told  that  the  sincerest  contrition 


178  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

consists  in  acknowledgment  of  our  faults;  and  to  do  this  has  been  my 
desire.  And  now  let  us  drop  the  curtain  on  the  affair,  only  drawing 
from  it  this  lesson — that  when  friends  quarrel  it  is  much  better  to  have 
it  out  face  to  face  than  to  turn  to  a  go-between. 

With  this  you  will  receive  a  dedication  from  me  to  you  concerning 
which  I  only  wish  that  the  work  were  a  larger  one  and  more  worthy  of 
you.  I  was  plagued  here  to  publish  the  little  work,  and  I  took  advantage 
of  the  opportunity,  my  estimable  E.,  to  show  my  respect  and  friendship 
for  you  and  my  enduring  memory  of  your  family.  Take  this  trifle  and 
remember  that  it  comes  from  a  friend  who  respects  you  greatly.  Oh, 
if  it  but  gives  you  pleasure,  my  wishes  will  be  completely  fulfilled.  Let 
it  be  a  reminder  of  the  time  when  I  spent  so  many  and  such  blessed  hours 
at  your  home.  Perhaps  it  will  keep  me  in  your  recollection  until  I 
eventually  return  to  you,  which,  it  is  true,  is  not  likely  to  be  soon.  But 
how  we  shall  rejoice  then,  my  dear  friend — you  will  then  find  in  your 
friend  a  happier  man,  from  whose  visage  time  and  a  kindlier  fate  shall 
have  smoothed  out  all  the  furrows  of  a  hateful  past. 

If  you  should  chance  to  see  B.  Koch,  please  say  to  her  that  it  is 
not  nice  of  her  never  once  to  have  written  to  me.  I  wrote  to  her  twice 
and  three  times  to  Malchus,  but  no  answer.  Say  to  her  that  if  she  doesn't 
want  to  write  she  might  at  least  urge  Malchus  to  do  so.  In  conclusion 
I  venture  a  request;  it  is  this:  I  should  like  once  again  to  be  so  happy 
as  to  own  a  waistcoat  knit  of  hare's  wool  by  your  hands,  my  dear  friend. 
Pardon  the  immodest  request,  my  dear  friend,  but  it  proceeds  from  a 
great  predilection  for  everything  that  comes  from  your  hands.  Privately 
I  may  also  acknowledge  that  a  little  vanity  is  also  involved  in  the  re- 
quest; I  want  to  be  able  to  say  that  I  have  something  that  was  given 
me  by  the  best  and  most  estimable  girl  in  Bonn.  I  still  have  the 
waistcoat  which  you  were  good  enough  to  give  me  in  Bonn,  but  it  has 
grown  so  out  of  fashion  that  I  can  only  treasure  it  in  my  wardrobe  as 
something  very  precious  because  it  came  from  you.  You  would  give 
me  much  pleasure  if  you  were  soon  to  rejoice  me  with  a  dear  letter  from 
yourself.  If  my  letters  should  in  any  way  please  you  I  promise  in  this 
to  be  at  your  command  so  far  as  lies  in  my  power,  as  everything  is  welcome 
to  me  which  enables  me  to  show  how  truly  I  am 
Your  admiring, 
true  friend 

L.  V.  Beethoven. 

P.S.  The  V.  [variations]  you  will  find  a  little  difficult  to  play, 
especially  the  trills  in  the  coda;  but  don't  let  that  alarm  you.  It  is 
so  contrived  that  you  need  play  only  the  trill,  leaving  out  the  other 
notes  because  they  are  also  in  the  violin  part.  I  never  would  have  com- 
posed a  thing  of  the  kind  had  I  not  often  observed  that  here  and  there  in 
\  lenna  there  was  somebody  who,  after  I  had  improvised  of  an  evening, 
noted  down  many  of  my  peculiarities,  and  made  parade  of  them  next  day 
as  his  own.  Foreseeing  that  some  of  these  things  would  soon  appear  in 
pnnt,  I  resolved  to  anticipate  them.  Another  reason  that  I  had  was  to 
embarrass  the  local  pianoforte  masters.  Many  of  them  are  my  deadly 
enemies  and  I  wanted  to  revenge  myself  on  them,  knowing  that  once 
m  a  while  somebody  would  ask  them  to  play  the  variations  and  they 
would  make  a  sorry  show  with  them. 


Dr.  Wegeler*s  Reminiscences  179 

Except  Beethoven's  memorandum,  "Schuppanzigh  3  times 
each  W.;  Albrechtsberger  3  times  each  W.",  which  indicates  his 
change  of  instructors,  there  is  nothing  to  be  recorded  until,  prob- 
ably in  May  or  June  (1794),  we  come  to  the  fragment  of  another 
letter  to  Eleonore  von  Breuning  also  contained  in  Wegeler's 
"Notizen"  (p.  60),  which  has  particular  interest  both  as  showing 
how  bitterly  his  conscience  reproached  him  for  acts  inconsistent 
with  the  forbearance  and  command  of  temper  due  to  friendship, 
but  in  which  he  ever  remained  too  apt  to  indulge,  and  as  adding 
some  implied  confirmation  of  the  argument  previously  made  in 
relation  to  the  compositions  of  the  Bonn  period.  In  this  letter 
he  acknowledges  receipt  of  a  cravat  embroidered  by  Eleonore  and 
protests  that  thoughts  of  her  generosity  and  his  unworthiness  had 
brought  him  to  tears.  He  continues:  "Do  pray  believe  me  that 
little  as  I  have  deserved  it,  my  friend  (let  me  always  call  you  such), 
I  have  suffered  much  and  still  suffer  from  the  loss  of  vour  friend- 
ship.  ...  As  a  slight  return  for  your  kind  recollection  of  me 
I  take  the  liberty  of  sending  these  Variations  and  the  Rondo  with 
violin  (accompaniment).  I  have  a  great  deal  to  do  or  I  should 
have  transcribed  the  Sonata  I  promised  you  long  ago.  It  is  a 
mere  sketch  in  manuscript,  and  to  copy  it  would  be  a  diflScult, 
etc."  The  letter  is  signed:  "The  friend  who  still  reveres  you, 
Beethowen"  {sic)^ 

In  January,  1794,  Elector  Max  had  paid  a  short  visit  to  Vienna, 
where,  perhaps,  it  was  determined  that  Beethoven  should  remain 
"without  salary  until  recalled."  After  the  declaration  of  war 
by  the  Empire  against  France,  the  electorate,  as  a  Gerniiin  state, 
could  no  longer  remain  neutral;  and  thus  it  came  to  pass  that  in 
October  the  victorious  French  army  marched  into  Bonn.  Tlie 
Elector  fled  to  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  November  6th,  thence  to 
Miinster,  while  his  court  and  all  such  as  were  obnoxious  to  the 
republican  authorities  dispersed  in  all  directions  for  safety. 

One  of  these  fugitives,  a  young  man  of  twenty-nine  years 
but  already  the  Rector  of  the  University,  to  "save  his  head" 
hastened  away  to  Vienna — Dr.  Wegeler.     He  reached  that  capital 

•Though  Thayer  fixed  the  date  of  this  letter  in  May  or  June.  I7!)t.  Dr.  Deiters 
believed  that  it  was  of  a  much  earlier  date;  and  may,  indeed,  have  been  written  before 
Beethoven  went  to  Vienna.  For  his  theory  Dr.  Deiters  found  a  plausible  argument  in 
the  spelling  of  the  namt!  with  a  "w"  in  stea<l  of  a"  v,"  and  th(?  reiterated  references  to  a  mis- 
understanding wliich  had  long  been  made  right.  The  letter  has  no  «late  or  superscrip- 
tion and  Wegeler  assumed  tliat  it  was  the  continuation  of  one  whose  first  i)age  had 
been  lost.  If  the  letter  was  written  in  IJonn  it  would  prove  that  the  Hondo  (probably 
that  in  G  for  Pianoforte  and  Violin,  H.  and  H.  Series  XII,  No.  10!^)  was  compose.l 
before  the  beginning  of  the  Viennese  period;  which  might  well  be.  The  Sonata  is  prob- 
ably the  unfinished  one  in  C,  dedicated  to  Eleonore  von  Breuning. 


ISO  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

in  October  and  found  Beethoven  not  in  the  "room  on  the  ground 
floor"  where  "it  was  not  necessary  to  pay  the  housekeeper  more 
than  7  florins,"  but  living  as  a  guest  in  the  family  of  Prince  Karl 
Liclmowsky;  and  this  explains  sufficiently  the  cessation  of  those 
records  of  monthly  payments  before  noticed. 

Tlie  reminiscences  of  Wegeler  for  the  period  of  his  stay  in 
Vienna,  excepting  those  which  may  be  better  introduced  chronolo- 
gically in  other  connections,  may  well  find  place  here.  They  are 
interesting  and  characteristic  in  themselves  and  indicate,  also, 
the  great  change  for  the  better  in  Beethoven's  pecuniary  condition; 
for  a  man  who  keeps  a  servant  and  a  horse  cannot,  if  honest,  be 
a  sutferer  from  poverty: 

Carl,  Prince  of  Lichnowsky,  Count  Werdenberg,  Dynast  Granson, 
was  a  very  great  patron,  yes,  a  friend  of  Beethoven's,  who  took  him 
into  his  house  as  a  guest,  where  he  remained  at  least  a  few  years.  I 
found  him  there  toward  the  end  of  the  year  1794,  and  left  him  there  in 
the  middle  of  1796.  Meanwhile,  however,  Beethoven  had  almost  always 
a  home  in  the  country. 

The  Prince  was  a  great  lover  and  connoisseur  of  music.  He  played 
the  pianoforte,  and  by  studying  Beethoven's  pieces  and  playing  them 
more  or  less  well,  sought  to  convince  him  that  there  was  no  need  of 
changing  anything  in  his  style  of  composition,  though  the  composer's 
attention  was  often  called  to  the  difficulties  of  his  works.  There  were 
performances  at  his  house  every  Friday  morning,  participated  in  by 
four  hired  musicians — Schuppanzigh,  Weiss,  Kraft  and  another  (Link.?), 
besides  our  friend;  generally  also  an  amateur,  Zmeskall.  Beethoven 
always  listened  with  pleasure  to  the  observations  of  these  gentlemen. 
Thus,  to  cite  a  single  instance,  the  famous  violoncellist  Kraft  in  my  pres- 
ence called  his  attention  to  a  passage  in  the  finale  of  the  Trio,  Op.  1, 
Xo.  3,  to  the  fact  that  it  ought  to  be  marked  "sulla  corda  G,"  and  the 
indication  4-4  time  which  Beethoven  had  marked  in  the  finale  of  the 
second  Trio,  changed  to  2-4.  Here  the  new  compositions  of  Beethoven, 
so  far  as  was  feasible,  were  first  performed.  Here  there  were  generally 
present  several  great  musicians  and  music-lovers.  I,  too,  as  long  as  I 
lived  in  Vienna,  was  present,  if  not  every  time,  at  least  most  of  the  time. 

Here  a  Hungarian  count  once  placed  a  difficult  composition  by  Bach 
in  manuscript  before  him  which  he  played  a  vista  exactly  as  Bach  would 
have  played  it,  according  to  the  testimony  of  the  owner.  Here  the 
Viennese  author  Forster  once  brought  him  a  quartet  of  which  he  had 
made  a  clean  copy  only  that  morning.  In  the  second  portion  of  the 
first  movement  the  violoncello  got  out.  Beethoven  stood  up,  and  still 
playing  his  own  part  sang  the  bass  accompaniment.  When  I  spoke 
about  it  to  him  as  a  proof  of  extraordinary  acquirements,  he  replied 
with  a  smile:  "The  bass  part  had  to  be  so,  else  the  author  would  have 
known  nothing  about  composition."  To  the  remark  that  he  had  played 
a  -preato  which  he  had  never  seen  before  so  rapidly  that  it  must  have  been 
impossible  to  see  the  individual  notes,  he  answered:  "Nor  is  that  neces- 
sary; if  you  read  rapidly  there  may  be  a  multitude  of  typographical 


Confession,  Contrition,  Petition  181 

errors,  but  you  neither  see  nor  give  heed  to  them,  so  long  as  the  language 
is  a  familiar  one." 

After  the  concert  the  musicians  generally  stayed  to  dine.  Here 
there  gathered,  in  addition,  artists  and  savants  without  regard  to  social 
position.  The  Princess  Christiane  was  the  highly  cultivated  daughter 
of  Count  Franz  Joseph  von  Thun,  who,  a  very  philanthropic  and  respect- 
able gentleman,  was  disposed  to  extravagant  enthusiasm  by  his  inter- 
course with  Lavater,  and  believed  himself  capable  of  healing  diseases 
through  the  power  of  his  right  hand. 

The  following  undated  letter  also  belongs  to  the  years  of 
Beethoven's  intimate  association  with  Wegeler  in  Vienna  (1794-96). 
It  is  significant  of  Beethoven's  character.  Though  easily  offended 
and  prone  to  anger,  no  sooner  w^as  the  first  ebullition  of  temper 
past  than  he  was  so  reconciliatory  and  open  to  explanation  that 
usually  his  contrition  was  out  of  all  proportion  to  his  fault.  For 
this  reason,  and  because  it  presents  the  friend  in  a  light  which  pro- 
voked a  protest  from  his  modesty,  Wegeler  was  unwilling  to  make 
public  the  entire  letter.^ 

Dearest!  Best!  In  what  an  odious  light  you  have  exhibited  me  to 
myself!  I  acknowledge  it,  I  do  not  deserve  your  friendship.  You  are 
so  noble,  so  considerate,  and  the  first  time  that  I  ranged  myself  along- 
side of  you  I  fell  so  far  below  you!  Ah,  for  weeks  I  have  displeased 
my  best  and  noblest  friend!  You  think  that  I  have  lost  some  of  my 
goodness  of  heart,  but,  thank  Heaven!  it  was  no  intentional  or  deliberate 
malice  which  induced  me  to  act  as  I  did  towards  you;  it  was  my  inex- 
cusable thoughtlessness  which  did  not  })ermit  me  to  see  the  matter  in 
its  true  light.  O,  how  ashamed  I  am,  not  only  for  your  sake  but  also 
my  own.  I  can  scarcely  trust  myself  to  ask  for  your  friendship  again. 
Oh,  Wegeler,  my  only  comfort  lies  in  this,  that  you  have  known  me  almost 
from  my  childhood,  and  yet,  O  let  me  say  for  myself,  I  was  always  good, 
and  always  strove  to  be  uf>right  and  true  in  my  actions — otherwise  how 
could  you  have  loved  me?  Could  I  have  cliangod  so  fearfully  for  the 
worse  in  such  a  short  time?  Impossible;  these  feelings  of  goodness  and 
love  of  righteousness  cannot  have  died  forever  in  me  in  a  moment.  No, 
Wegeler,  dearest,  best,  O,  venture  again  to  throw  yourself  entirely  into 
the  arms  of  your  B.;  trust  in  the  good  cpialities  you  us<>(l  to  find  in  him; 
I  will  guarantee  that  the  i)Ur(;  temple  of  sacred  friendship  which  you 
erect  shall  remain  firm  forever;  no  accident,  no  storm  sliall  ever  shake 
its  foundations — firm — forever — our  frienflstn'i) — pardon — oblivion — a 
new  ui)fianiing  of  the  dying,  sinking  friendship — (),  Wegel(T,  do  not 
reject  this  hand  of  reconeiliation.  Place  yours  in  mine — O,  God! — but 
no  more;  I  am  coming  to  throw  myself  in  your  arms,  to  entreat  you 
to  restore  to  me  my  lost  friend.  And  you  will  give  yourself  to  me, 
your  penitent,  loving,  never-forgetting  Beethoven  again. 

It  was  only  now  that  I  received  your  letter,  because  I  have  just 
returned  home. 

'This  was  done  by  Wegcler's  grandson,  Carl  Wcgclcr,  in  an  essay  put^lishcd  in 
the  "Coblenz  Zeitung"  on  May  20.  1890. 


18'2  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

In  tliis  connection  Wegeler  comes  to  speak  of  the  outward 
conditions  of  Beethoven:  "Beethoven,"  he  says  on  page  33, 

brought  up  under  extremely  restricted  circumstances,  and  as  it  were, 
under  guardianship,  though  that  of  his  friends,  did  not  know  the 
vahie  of  money  and  was  anything  but  economical.  Thus,  to  cite  a 
single  instance,  the  Prince's  dinner  hour  was  fixed  at  4  o'clock.  "Now," 
said  Beethoven,  "it  is  desired  that  every  day  I  shall  be  at  home  at  half- 
past  3,  put  on  better  clothes,  care  for  my  beard,  etc. — I  can't  stand  that !" 
So  it  happened  that  he  frequently  went  to  the  taverns,  since,  as  has  been 
said,  in  this  as  in  all  other  matters  of  economy,  he  knew  nothing  about 
the  value  of  things  or  of  money.  The  Prince,  Wegeler  continues,  who 
had  a  loud,  metallic  voice,  once  directed  his  serving-man  that  if  ever 
he  and  Beethoven  should  ring  at  the  same  time  the  latter  was  to  be  first 
served.  Beethoven  heard  this,  and  the  same  day  engaged  a  servant  for 
himself.  In  the  same  manner,  once  when  he  took  a  whim  to  learn  to 
ride,  which  speedily  left  him,  the  stable  of  the  Prince  being  oflFered  him, 
he  bought  a  horse. 

Concerning  his  friend's  affairs  of  the  heart,  Wegeler  had  oppor- 
tunity to  make  observations  in  Vienna.  He  relates  on  page  43 
that  while  he  was  in  the  capital  Beethoven  "was  always  in  love 
and  made  many  conquests  which  would  have  been  difficult  if  not 
impossible  for  many  an  Adonis."  Beethoven's  antipathy  to 
teaching  before  he  left  Bonn  has  already  been  noticed.  In  Vienna 
he  developed  a  still  stronger  repugnance  to  playing  in  society  when 
requested  to  do  so.  He  often  complained  to  Wegeler  how  griev- 
ously this  put  him  out  of  sorts,  whereupon  the  latter  sought  to 
entertain  him  and  quiet  him  by  conversation.  "When  this  pur- 
pose was  reached,"  he  continues, 

I  dropped  the  conversation,  seated  myself  at  the  writing  table,  and 
Beethoven,  if  he  wanted  to  continue  the  discourse,  had  to  sit  down  on 
the  chair  before  the  pianoforte.  Soon,  still  turned  away  from  the  instru- 
ment, he  aimlessly  struck  a  few  chords  out  of  which  gradually  grew 
the  most  beautiful  melodies.  Oh,  why  did  I  not  understand  more  of 
music!  Several  times  I  put  ruled  paper  upon  the  desk  as  if  without 
intention,  in  order  to  get  a  manuscript  of  his;  he  wrote  upon  it  but  then 
folded  it  up  and  put  it  in  his  pocket!  Concerning  his  playing  I  was 
permitted  to  say  but  little,  and  that  only  in  passing.  He  would  then 
go  away  entirely  changed  in  mood  and  always  come  back  again  gladly. 
The  antii)athy  remained,  however,  and  was  frequently  the  cause  of 
differences  between  Beethoven  and  his  friends  and  well-wishers. 

There  is  still  one  other  reminiscence  of  Wegeler  in  the  appendix 
to  the  "Xotizen"  (page  9)  worthy  of  citation.  "At  one  time  pri- 
vate lectures  were  given  in  Vienna  on  Kant,  which  had  been 
arranged  by  Adam  Schmidt,  Wilhelm  Schmidt,  Hunczovsky,  Gop- 
fert  and  others.     In  spite  of  my  urgings  Beethoven  refused  to 


Old  Bonn  Friends  Remembered  183 

attend  a  single  one  of  them."  There  is  no  reference  in  Wegeler's 
"Notizen"  to  instruction  received  by  Beethoven  from  Albrechts- 
berger.  With  his  old  colleague  in  the  Court  Orchestra  in  Bonn, 
Nicolaus  Simrock,  though  he  was  a  much  older  man,  Beethoven 
remained  in  touch  after  his  removal  to  Vienna.  Simrock,  who  was 
highly  esteemed  both  as  man  and  musician,  had  embarked  in 
business  as  a  music  publisher  in  Bonn.  The  Variations  on  a  theme 
from  Dittersdorf's  "Rothkappchen,"  were  published  by  him  (at 
the  latest  in  the  early  part  of  1794),  as  well  as  those  for  pianoforte 
four  hands  on  a  theme  by  Count  Waldstein  (some  time  in  the  same 
year) .  It  is  to  the  latter  composition  that  the  following  letter  refers : 

Vienna,  August  2,  1794. 

Dear  Simrock : 

I  deserve  a  little  scolding  from  you  for  holding  back  your 
Variations  so  long,  but,  indeed,  I  do  not  lie  when  I  say  that  I  was  hindered 
from  correcting  them  sooner  by  an  overwhelming  amount  of  business. 
You  will  note  the  shortcomings  for  yourself,  but  I  must  wish  you  joy  on 
the  appearance  of  your  engraving,  which  is  beautiful,  clear  and  legible. 
Verily,  if  you  keep  on  thus  you  will  become  chief  among  cutters,  that 
is,  note  cutters ^  In  my  former  letter  I  promised  to  send  you  some- 
thing of  mine  and  you  interpreted  the  remark  as  being  in  the  language 
of  the  cavaliers.  How  have  I  deserved  such  a  title?  Faugh!  who  would 
indulge  in  such  language  in  these  democratic  days  of  ours?  To  free 
myself  from  the  imputation  as  soon  as  I  have  finished  the  grand  revision 
of  my  compositions,  which  will  be  soon,  you  shall  have  something  which 
you  will  surely  engrave.  I  have  also  been  looking  about  me  for  a  com- 
missioner and  have  found  a  right  capable  young  fellow  for  the  place. 
His  name  is  Traeg.  You  have  naught  to  do  but  to  write  to  him  or 
me  about  the  conditions  which  you  want  to  make.  He  asks  of  you  one- 
third  rabate.  The  devil  take  all  such  bargaining!  It  is  very  hot  here. 
The  Viennese  fear  that  they  will  soon  be  unable  to  eat  ice-cream,  there 
having  been  little  cold  last  winter  and  ice  being  scarce.  Many  persons 
of  importance  have  come  here  and  it  was  said  that  a  revolution  was  im- 
minent; but  it  is  my  belief  that  so  long  as  the  Austrian  has  his  dark 
beer  and  sausage  he  will  not  revolt.  It  is  said  that  the  suburban  gates 
are  to  be  closed  at  ten  o'clock  at  night.  The  soldiers'  guns  arc  loaded 
with  bullets.  No  one  dares  speak  aloud  for  fear  of  arrest  by  tiic  j)()lice. 
Are  your  daughters  ^rown?  liriu^  one  uj)  to  be  my  wife,  for  if  I  am  to 
remain  single  in  Bonn  I  siiall  not  slay  loiij^,  of  a  surety.  You  also  nnist 
be  living  in  fear.  How  is  good  Ries?  I  shall  write  to  him  soon  for  he 
can  have  only  an  unfavorable  oj)inion  of  mc — but  this  damned  wrifinj^l 
I  cannot  get  over  my  antipathy  towards  it.  Have  you  performed  my 
piece  yet.''     Write  to  mc  occasionally. 

Please  send  also  a  few  copies  of  the  first  Variations. 

Your 

Beethoven. 

'An  early  example  f)f  Hccthoven's  fondness  for  piinnin;;.  Strehrn  means  many 
things  in  German — among  them  to  sting,  stab,  tilt  in  a  tovirnament,  take  a  trick  at 
cards — as  well  as  to  engrave,  or  cut  in  metal. 


184  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

These  "first  Variations"  obviously  are  those  on  the  theme  from 
"Rothkappchen";  those  referred  to  in  the  early  part  of  the  letter 
tlie  onos  on  Count  Waldstein's  theme.  The  "piece"  whose  per- 
fornuince  he  inquires  about  is  the  Octet,  and  the  allusion  to  it 
justifies  the  belief  that  it  was  composed  for  the  wind-instrument 
players  of  Bonn  who  found  no  opportunity  to  play  it  while  Beet- 
hoven was  still  in  his  native  city.  The  letter,  like  that  written 
to  Eleonore  von  Breuning,  shows  that  Beethoven  was  still  think- 
ing of  the  possibility  or  probability  of  a  return  to  Bonn.  Its 
cheerful  tone  discloses  a  comfortable,  satisfied  frame  of  mind — 
the  mood  from  which  the  first  Trios  proceeded. 

AVe  return  to  the  chronological  record  of  events.  The  first 
of  these  in  the  year  1795,  was  Beethoven's  first  appearance  in  pub- 
lic as  virtuoso  and  composer.  The  annual  concerts  in  the  Burg- 
theater  established  by  Gassmann  for  the  benefit  of  the  widows  of 
the  Tonkiinstlergesellschaft  were  announced  for  the  evenings  of 
March  29  and  30.  The  vocal  work  selected  for  performance  was 
an  oratorio  in  two  parts,  "Gioas,  Re  di  Giuda,"  by  Antonio  Car- 
tellieri;  the  instrumental,  a  Concerto  for  Pianoforte  and  Orchestra, 
composed  and  played  by  Ludwig  van  Beethoven.  Cartellieri  was 
a  young  man  of  twenty-three  years  (born  in  Danzig,  September 
27,  1772)  who,  a  year  or  two  since,  had  come  from  Berlin  to  study 
operatic  composition  with  the  then  greatest  living  composer  in 
that  field,  Salieri.  As  the  direction  of  these  Widow  and  Orphan 
concerts  was  almost  exclusively  in  the  hands  of  Salieri,  one  is 
almost  tempted  to  think  that  he  may  on  this  occasion  have  in- 
dulged a  pardonable  vanity  in  bringing  forward  two  of  his  pupils, 
if  we  did  not  know  how  strong  an  attraction  the  name  of  Beet- 
hoven must  have  been  for  the  public  which,  as  yet,  had  had  no 
opportunity  to  learn  his  great  powers  except  by  report.  The  day 
of  the  performance  drew  near  but  the  Concerto  was  not  yet  written 
out.  "Not  until  the  afternoon  of  the  second  day  before  the  con- 
cert did  he  write  the  rondo,  and  then  while  suffering  from  a  pretty 
severe  colic  which  frequently  aflflicted  him.  I  [Wegeler]  relieved 
him  with  simple  remedies  so  far  as  I  could.  In  the  anteroom  sat 
four  copyists  to  whom  he  handed  sheet  after  sheet  as  soon  as  it 
was  finished.  ...  At  the  first  rehearsal,  which  took  place  the 
next  day  in  Beethoven's  room,  the  pianoforte  was  found  to  be 
half  a  tone  lower  than  the  wind-instruments.  Without  a  moment's 
delay  Beethoven  had  the  wind-instruments  and  the  others  tune 
to  B-flat  instead  of  A  and  played  his  part  in  C-sharp."  Thus 
Wegeler  in  his  "Notizen"  (pg.  36).  But  he  has  confounded  two 
compositions.     The  concerto  which  Beethoven  played  on  March 


First  Concert  Appil\r.\nces  in  Vienna  185 

29,  1795,  was  not  that  in  C  (Op.  15)  which  was  not  yet  finished, 
but,  in  all  probability,  that  in  B-flat  (Op.  19).  For  the  fact  that 
the  Concerto  in  B-flat  was  composed  before  that  in  C  we  have  the 
testimony  of  Beethoven  himself,  who  wrote  to  Breitkopf  and  Hartel 
on  April  22,  1801 :  "I  simply  want  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact 
that  one  of  my  first  Concertos  will  be  published  by  Hoff  meister, 
which  is  not  among  my  best  works,  and  one  also  by  Mollo  which, 
though  composed  later,  etc."  The  Concerto  in  B-flat  was  pub- 
lished in  1801  by  Hoffmeister  and  that  in  C  in  the  same  year  by 
Mollo  and  Co.  in  Vienna,  the  latter  a  little  in  advance  of  the  former, 
wherefore  there  need  be  no  surprise  at  the  earlier  opus  number. 

Beethoven  also  took  part  in  the  second  concert  on  March  30, 
the  minutes  of  the  Tonkiinstlerschaft  recording  tJiat  he  "impro- 
vised on  the  pianoforte";  and  though  busily  engaged  he  also  em- 
braced an  opportunity  to  testify  to  his  devotion  to  the  manes  of 
Mozart.  On  March  31,  1795,  Mozart's  widow  arranged  a  per- 
formance of  "La  Clemenza  di  Tito"  in  the  Burgtheater.  "After 
the  first  part,"  says  the  advertisement,  "Mr.  Ludwig  van  Beet- 
hoven will  play  a  Concerto  of  Mozart's  composition  on  the  Piano- 
forte." We  opine  that  this  concerto  was  Mozart's  in  D  minor, 
which  Beethoven  loved  especially  and  for  which  he  wrote  cadenzas. 

The  Trios,  Op.  1,  had  now  become  so  well  known  and  appre- 
ciated in  musical  circles  as  to  justify  their  publication,  and  accord- 
ingly, an  advertisement  inviting  subscriptions  for  Ludwig  van  Beet- 
hoven's "three  Grand  Trios"  appeared  in  the  "Wiener  Zoitung" 
on  May  16,  1795.  Three  days  later  a  contract  was  signed  by  the 
author  and  Artaria  and  Company.  The  printed  list  of  subscribers 
gives  123  names,  mostly  belonging  to  the  higher  circles,  with  sub- 
scriptions amounting  to  241  copies.  As  Beethoven  paid  the  i)ub- 
lisher  but  one  florin  per  copy,  and  the  subscrijition  ])rice  was  one 
ducat,  he  made  a  handsome  profit  out  of  the  transaction.' 

We  must  tarry  a  moment  longer  with  these  Trios.  That  the 
author  is  disposed  to  place  th(>ir  origin  in  the  Bonn  period  has 
already  ap[)ear('d.  Argument  in  favor  of  this  view  can  be  iound 
in  the  fact  of  tJieir  early  performance  in  Vienna,  for  tJiere  can  be 
no  reasonable  question  of  the  correctness  of  Rics's  story,  for  which 
Beethoven  himself  was  authority,  that  they  were  played  at  the 
house  of  Prince  Lichnowsky,  in  the  presence  of  Haydn.  This  per- 
formance must  have  taken  place  before  January  19,  1791',  because 
on  that  day  Haydn  started  again  for  England.  Now,  Beethoven's 
sketches  show  that  he  was  still  working  on  at  least  the  second  and 

'Thf  son  of  Artaria  told  Nolil  tliat  his  fatlirr  li.-ul  lol.i  him  Ihnt  ho  >?ot  the  money 
to  pay  Beethoven  without  the  composer's  knowledge  from  I'rince  Liehnowsky. 


186  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

tliird  of  the  Trios  after  1794,  and  that  they  were  not  ready  for 
tlie  printer  before  the  end  of  that  year.  Further  explanation  is 
otfered  by  the  following  little  circumstances:  since  Haydn  was 
present,  the  performance  at  Prince  Lichnowsky's  must  have  been 
from  manuscript.  In  the  morning  meeting  which  probably  took 
place  only  a  short  time  before  the  soiree,  Beethoven's  attention 
was  called  to  the  desirability  of  changing  in  the  last  movement  of 
the  second  Trio,  the  time-signature  from  4-4  to  2-4.  Beethoven 
made  the  change.  From  these  facts  it  may  be  concluded  that 
after  a  first  there  was  a  final  revision  of  these  Trios  and  that  the 
former  version  disappeared  or  was  destroyed  after  the  latter  was 
made.  It  has  repeatedly  been  intimated  that  the  author  believes 
that  the  rewriting  of  compositions  completed  in  Beethoven's  early 
period  is  farther-reaching  than  is  generally  assumed.  The  case 
therefore  seems  to  present  itself  as  follows:  Haydn  heard  the  Trios 
at  Lichnowsky's  in  their  first  state;  Beethoven  then  took  them  up 
for  revision  and  in  the  course  of  1794  and  the  beginning  of  1795 
brought  them  to  the  state  in  which  we  know  them.  It  is  not 
possible  to  say  positively  whether  or  not  the  first  form,  particu- 
larly of  the  first  Trio,  dates  back  to  the  Bonn  period. 

An  interesting  anecdote  connected  with  these  Trios  may  well 
find  place  here;  it  is  contributed  by  Madame  Mary  de  Fouche, 
daughter  of  Tomkison,  who,  in  the  seventh  decade  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  was  one  of  the  more  famous  pianoforte  manufac- 
turers of  London:  In  the  early  days  of  the  century,  a  little  society 
of  musicians — J.  B.  Cramer,  the  pianist;  F.  Cramer,  violinist,  half- 
brother  of  the  preceding;  J.  P.  Salomon,  whose  name  has  so  often 
come  up  in  previous  chapters  of  this  work;  Bridgetower,  a 
mulatto  and  celebrated  violinist,  whose  name  we  shall  meet  again; 
Watts,  tenor;  Morant,  also  tenor,  who  married  the  great  Dussek's 
widow;  Dahmen,  Lindley  and  Crossdale,  violoncellists — was  in  the 
habit  of  meeting  regularly  at  Mr.  Tomkison's  to  try  over  and 
criticise  such  new  music  of  the  German  school  as  came  to  the  London 
dealers.  At  one  of  these  meetings  the  new  Trios  of  Beethoven, 
Op.  1,  were  played  through,  J.  B.  Cramer  at  the  pianoforte.  "This 
is  the  man,"  he  cried,  "who  is  to  console  us  for  the  loss  of  Mozart!" 
According  to  the  recollection  of  Cipriani  Potter,  this  was  after 
Cramer  had  made  the  personal  acquaintance  of  Beethoven  in 
Vienna,  and  had  heard  him  play  there. 

Some  other  incidents  recorded  by  Wegeler  belong  to  this  year. 
Haydn  reached  Vienna  upon  his  return  from  his  second  visit  to 
England  on  August  20.  Beethoven  had  now  ready  the  three 
Sonatas,  Op.  2,  and  at  one  of  the  Friday  morning  concerts  at 


First  Pianoforte  Trios  and  Sonatas  187 

Prince  Lichnowsky's  he  played  them  to  Haydn,  to  whom  they  were 
dedicated. 

Here  (says  Wegeler  on  page  29  of  the  'Notizen'),  Count  Appony 
asked  Beethoven  to  compose  a  quartet  for  him  for  a  given  compensation, 
Beethoven  not  yet  having  written  a  piece  in  this  genre.  The  Count 
declared  that  contrary  to  custom  he  did  not  want  to  have  exclusive 
possession  of  the  quartet  for  half  a  year  before  publication,  nor  did  he 
ask  that  it  be  dedicated  to  him,  etc.  In  response  to  repeated  urgings 
by  me,  Beethoven  twice  set  about  the  task,  but  the  first  effort  resulted 
in  a  grand  violin  Trio  (Op.  3),  the  second  in  a  violin  Quintet  (Op.  4). 

How  much  mistaken  Wegeler  was  in  these  concluding  state- 
ments has  already  been  indicated. 

The  three  Pianoforte  Sonatas  dedicated  to  Haydn  were,  there- 
fore, the  second  group  of  compositions  which  Beethoven  considered 
illustrative  of  his  artistic  ideals  and  worthy  of  publication.  Noth- 
ing can  be  said  with  positiveness  touching  the  time  of  their  origin. 
Schonfeld's  words  in  his  "Jahrbuch  der  Tonkunst  von  Wien  und 
Prag":  "We  already  have  several  of  his  Sonatas,  among  which  his 
last  are  particularly  noteworthy,"  which  were  written  at  least  eight 
months  before  the  Sonatas  appeared  in  print,  lead  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  Sonatas  were  known  in  Vienna  in  manuscript  in  the  spring 
of  1795.  Their  appearance  in  print  was  announced  in  the  "Wiener 
Zeitung"  of  March  9,  1796. 

Still  another  anecdote  recorded  by  Wegeler  refers  to  another 
composition  of  this  period:  "Beethoven  was  seated  in  a  box  at 
the  opera  with  a  lady  of  whom  he  thought  much  at  a  performance 
of  *La  Molinara.'  AVhen  the  familiar  Nel  cor  j)iil  non  mi  scnto  was 
reached  the  lady  remarked  that  she  had  possessed  some  variations 
on  the  theme  but  had  lost  them.  In  the  same  night  Beethoven 
wrote  the  six  variations  on  the  melody  and  the  next  morning  sent 
them  to  the  lady  with  the  inscription:  Variazioni^  etc.,  Perdute  par 
la — ritrovate  par  Luigi  van  Beethoren.  Tliey  are  so  easy  that  if  is 
likely  Beethoven  wished  that  she  should  be  able  to  play  tliciii  at 
sight."  Paisieilo's  "La  Molinara,"  composed  in  1788  for  Na|)Ics, 
was  performed  on  March  8,  1794  in  the  Court  Opera,  and  again  on 
June  24  and  27,  1795,  in  the  K;irntJmerthor-Theater  in  Vienna. 
Considering  the  time  of  the  i)ul)]ieation  of  these  unpretentious  but 
genial  little  variations,  their  composition  may  be  set  down  afler 
the  latter  performances.  At  the  same  period  15eetlioven  wrote 
variations  on  another  theme  {Quant'  d  piit  hello)  from  the  same 
opera,  which  were  published  l)eforc  the  former  and  d<'(lieale(i  to 
Prince  Carl  Lielinowsky.  It  is  likely  tliat  a  few  more  sets  of 
variations,   a  form  of   composition  for  whicii   Bcctlioven  had   a 


188  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

strons?  predilection  at  the  time,  had  their  origin  in  these  early  years 
of  Beethoven's  life  in  Vienna.  The  Variations  in  C  on  the  "Menuet 
a  la  Vigano"  from  the  ballet  "Le  Nozze  disturbate,"  may  con- 
fidently be  assigned  to  the  year  1795.  The  ballet  was  performed 
for  the  first  time  on  May  18,  1795,  at  Schikaneder's  theatre;  the 
Variations  are  advertised  as  published  on  February  27,  1796. 

The  Gesellschaf  t  der  bildenden  Kunstler  had,  in  the  year  1792, 
established  an  annual  ball  in  the  Redoutensaal  in  the  month  of 
November;  and  Haydn,  just  then  returned  covered  with  glory 
from  England,  composed  a  set  of  twelve  minuets  and  twelve  Ger- 
man dances  for  the  occasion.  In  1793,  the  Royal  Imperial  Com- 
poser Kozeluch  followed  Haydn's  example.  In  1794,  Dittersdorf 
wrote  the  same  number  of  like  dances  for  the  large  hall,  and  Eybler 
for  the  small.  In  view  of  this  array  of  great  names,  and  consider- 
ing that  as  yet  the  Trios,  Op.  1,  were  the  only  works  of  a  higher 
order  than  the  Variations  which  Beethoven  had  sent  to  press,  the 
advertisements  for  the  annual  ball  to  be  given  upon  the  22nd  of 
November,  1795,  give  a  vivid  proof  of  the  high  reputation  which 
the  young  man  had  gained  as  a  composer  now  at  the  end  of  his 
third  year  in  Vienna.  These  advertisements  conclude  thus:  "The 
music  for  the  Minuets  and  German  dances  for  this  ball  is  an  en- 
tirely new  arrangement.  For  the  larger  room  they  were  written 
by  the  Royal  Imperial  Chapelmaster  Siissmayr;  for  the  smaller 
room  by  the  master  hand  of  Mr.  Ludwig  van  Beethoven  out  of 
love  for  the  artistic  fraternity."  These  dances,  arranged  for  piano- 
forte by  Beetlioven  himself,  came  from  the  press  of  Artaria  a  few 
weeks  later,  as  did  also  Siissmayr's;  Beethoven's  name  in  the 
advertisement  being  in  large  and  conspicuous  type. 

As  the  year  began  with  the  first,  so  it  closed  with  Beethoven's 
second  appearance  in  public  as  composer  and  virtuoso;  and  here 
is  the  advertisement  of  the  performance  from  the  "Wiener 
Zeitung"  of  December  16: 

Next  Friday,  the  18th  instant,  Mr.  the  Chapelmaster  Haydn  will 
give  a  grand  musical  concert  in  the  small  Redoutensaal,  at  which  Mad. 
Tomeoni  and  Mr.  Mombelli  will  sing.  Mr.  van  Beethoven  will  play  a 
Concerto  of  his  composing  on  the  Pianoforte,  and  three  grand  symphonies, 
not  yet  heard  here,  which  the  Chapelmaster  composed  during  his  last 
sojourn  in  London,  will  be  performed. 

One  would  gladly  know  what  concerto  was  played. ^  But 
there  was  little  public  criticism  then  outside  of  London  and  very 

'It  was  probably  that  in  B-flat.  See  Nottebohm's  "Zweite  Beethoveniana," 
page  72. 


Beethoven  Pays  Tribute  to  Haydn  189 

rarely  any  in  Vienna.  The  mere  fact  of  the  appearance  of  Beet- 
hoven at  his  old  master's  concert  is,  however,  another  proof  that 
too  much  stress  has  been  laid  upon  a  hasty  word  spoken  by  him 
to  Ries.  Haydn  wanted  that  Beethoven  should  put  "Pupil  of 
Haydn"  on  the  title-page  of  his  first  works.  Beethoven  was  un- 
willing to  do  so  because,  as  he  said,  "though  he  had  taken  some 
lessons  from  Haydn  he  had  never  learned  anything  from  him." 
Nothing  could  be  more  natural  than  for  Haydn,  knowing  nothing 
of  the  studies  of  his  pupil  with  Schenk,  to  express  such  a  wish  in 
relation  to  the  Sonatas  dedicated  to  him,  and  equally  natural  that 
the  author  should  refuse;  but  to  add  to  the  attractions  of  the  con- 
cert was  a  very  different  matter — a  graceful  and  delicate  compli- 
ment which  he  could  with  pleasure  make. 

This  chapter  may  appropriately  close  with  the  one  important 
family  event  of  this  year.  The  father,  the  mother,  two  infant 
brothers  and  two  infant  sisters  slept  in  the  churchyard  at  Bonn; 
but  Ludwig,  Caspar  and  Johann  were  never  more  to  look  upon 
their  graves.  The  three  brothers  were  now  reunited.  Vienna  had 
become  their  new  home  and  not  one  of  them  beheld  the  rushing 
Rhine  again. 


Chapter  XIV 


The  Years  1796  and  1797 — Beethoven  in  Prague  and  Berlin 
— King  Frederick  William  II  and  Prince  Louis  Ferdinand 
— Himmel,  Fasch  and  Zelter — Compositions  and  Pub- 
lications. 

THE  narrative  resumes  its  course  with  the  year  1796,  the 
twenty-sixth  of  Beethoven's  life  and  his  fourth  in  Vienna. 
If  not  yet  officially,  he  was  de  facto  discharged  from  his 
obligations  to  the  Elector  Maximilian  and  all  his  relations  with 
Bonn  and  its  people  were  broken  off.  Vienna  had  become  his 
home,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  he  ever  afterwards 
cherished  any  real  and  settled  purpose  to  exchange  it  for  another — 
not  even  in  1809  when,  for  the  moment,  he  had  some  thought  of 
accepting  Jerome  Bonaparte's  invitation  to  Cassel. 

He  had  now  entered  his  course  of  contrapuntal  study  with 
Albrechtsberger;  he  was  first  of  the  pianoforte  players  of  the  cap- 
ital and  his  name  added  attraction  even  to  the  concert  which 
Haydn,  returning  again  from  his  London  triumphs,  had  given  to 
introduce  some  of  his  new  works  to  the  Viennese;  his  "master- 
hand"  was  already  publicly  recognized  in  the  field  of  musical  com- 
position; he  counted  many  nobles  of  the  higher  ranks  in  his  list 
of  personal  friends  and  had  been,  perhaps  even  now  was,  a  member 
of  Prince  Carl  Lichnowsky's  family.  The  change  in  his  pecuniary 
condition  might  have  thrown  a  more  equitable  temperament  than 
his  off  its  balance.  Three  years  ago  he  anxiously  noted  down  the 
few  kreutzers  occasionally  spent  for  coffee  or  chocolate  "fiir  Haidn 
und  mich" ;  now  he  keeps  his  own  servant  and  a  horse.  His  broth- 
ers, if  at  all  a  burden,  were  no  longer  a  heavy  one.  Carl  Caspar, 
according  to  the  best  information  now  obtainable,  soon  gained 
moderate  success  in  the  musical  profession  and,  with  probably 
some  occasional  aid  from  Ludwig  both  pecuniary  and  in  obtaining 
pupils,  earned  sufficient  for  his  comfortable  support;  while  Johann 
had  secured  a  situation  in  that  apothecary  shop  "Zum  Heiligen 
Geist"  which,  in  1860,  was  still  to  be  seen  in  the  Karnthnerstrasse 

[190] 


Meeting  of  Friends  in  Nuremberg  191 

near  the  former  site  of  the  gate  of  that  name.^  His  wages  were, 
of  course,  small  and  we  shall  soon  see  that  Ludwig  offers  him  assist- 
ance if  needed,  though  not  to  Karl ;  but  Johann's  position  gradually 
improved  and  he  was  able  in  a  few  years  to  save  enough  to  enable 
him,  unaided  by  his  brother,  to  purchase  and  establish  himself  in  a 
business  of  his  own.^ 

"Fate  had  become  propitious  to  Beethoven";  and  a  final  cita- 
tion from  the  memorandum  book  will  show  in  what  spirit  he  was 
determined  to  merit  the  continuance  of  Fortune's  favor.  If  we 
make  allowance  for  the  old  error  as  to  his  real  age,  this  citation  may 
belong  to  a  period  a  year  or  two  later;  but  may  it  not  be  one  of 
those  extracts  from  books  and  periodical  publications  which  all  his 
life  long  he  was  so  fond  of  making?  This  seems  to  be  the  more 
probable  supposition.  The  words  are  these:  "Courage!  In  spite 
of  all  bodily  weaknesses  my  spirit  shall  rule.  You  have  lived  25 
years.  This  year  must  determine  the  complete  man.  Nothing 
must  remain  undone." 

And  now  let  the  chronological  narrative  of  events  be  resumed. 
As  the  year  1795  had  ended  with  a  public  appearance  of  Beethoven 
as  pianoforte  player  and  composer,  so  also  began  the  year  1796; 
and,  as  on  a  former  occasion  in  a  concert  by  Haydn,  so  this  time 
he  played  at  a  concert  given  by  a  singer,  Signora  Bolla,  who 
afterward  became  famous,  in  the  Redoutensaal.  Again  he  played 
a  pianoforte  concerto. 

"In  1796,"  says  Wegeler  ("Nachtrage,"  p.  18),  "the  two  older 
Breuning  brothers,  Christoph  and  Stephan,  find  him  (Beethoven)  at 
Nuremberg  on  a  return  journey  to  Vienna.  Which  journey  is  not 
specified.  None  of  the  three  having  a  passport  from  Vienna  they 
were  all  detained  at  Linz,  but  soon  liberated  through  my  interven- 
tion at  Vienna."  And  from  a  letter  written  by  Stephan  von  Breu- 
ning to  his  mother,  dated  January,  1796,  Wegeler  quotes:  "From 
Nuremberg,  Beethoven  travelled  all  the  way  in  company  with  us. 
The  three  Bonnians  tlius  attracted  the  attention  of  the  j)()lice,  who 
thought  they  Iiad  made  a  wonderful  discovery.  I  do  not  believe 
that  there  could  be  a  less  dangerous  man  than  Beethoven."  Wege- 
ler's  suggestion  that  Beethoven  was  returning  "perhaps  from 
Berlin"  is  of  course  out  of  the  question.  But  between  the  date 
of  Haydn's  concert  (December  18th)  and  Stephan  von  Breuning's 
letter,  if  written  towards  the  end  of  January,  there  was  ample  time, 
even  in  those  days  of  post-coaches,  for  a  journey  to  Prague  and 

'It  is  now  No.  16  of  the  extended  Operngasse. 

'Czerny  described  Beethoven's  brothers  to  Otto  Jahn  as  follows:  'Tarl:  small  of 
stature,  red-haired,  ugly;  Johann:  large,  dark,  a  handsome  man  and  complete  dandy." 


lO-i  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

thoiioe  across  the  country  to  Mergentheim  or  Ellingen,  at  that  time 
tlie  toinporary  residences  of  Elector  Maximilian.  The  necessity  of 
BeetJioven's  knowing  precisely  in  what  relation  he  was  to  stand 
with  the  Elector  in  the  future,  accounts  sufficiently  for  his  being 
in  Nuremberg  at  that  time,  especially  if  he  had  had  occasion  to 
visit  Prague  during  the  Christmas  holidays,  which  is  not  improb- 
able. Dlabacz,  in  his  "Kiinstler-Lexikon,"  has  a  paragraph  of 
which  this  is  a  part:  "v.  Beethoven,  a  Concertmaster  on  the  piano- 
forte. In  the  year  1795,  he  gave  an  academy  in  Prague  at  which 
he  played  with  universal  approval."  It  is  true  that  Dlabacz  may 
here  record  a  concert  given  during  Beethoven's  stay  in  the  Bohe- 
mian capital  some  weeks  later;  but,  on  the  one  hand,  no  other 
notice  of  such  a  concert  has  been  discovered;  and,  on  the  other,  the 
"universal  approval"  on  this  occasion  may  have  been  an  induce- 
ment for  him  to  return  thither  so  soon. 

At  all  events,  his  delay  in  Vienna  after  coming  from  Nurem- 
berg was  short  and  was  doubtless  occupied  with  the  last  corrections 
of  the  Sonatas,  Op.  2,  dedicated  to  Haydn,  the  six  Menuets  (second 
part),  the  Variations  on  the  theme  from  "Le  Nozze  disturbate'* 
and  those  on  "Nel  cor  piii  non  mi  sento,"  all  of  which  works  are 
advertised  in  the  "Wiener  Zeitung"  in  the  course  of  the  next  two 
months,  while  their  author  was  again  in  Prague  or  cities  farther 
North.  For  the  following  letter  we  are  indebted  to  Madame  van 
Beethoven,  widow  of  the  composer's  nephew,  Carl: 

To  my  brother  Nicholaus  Beethoven 

to  be  delivered  at  the  apothecary  shop  at  the  Karnthner 
Thor  Mr.  von  Z.^  will  please  hand  this  letter  to  the  wig-maker  who  will 
care  for  its  delivery. 

Prague,  February  19th  (1796). 
Dear  Brother! 

So  that  you  may  at  least  know  where  I  am  and  what  I  am 
doing  I  must  needs  write  you.  In  the  first  place  I  am  getting  on  well — 
very  well.  My  art  wins  for  me  friends  and  respect;  what  more  do  I 
want.''  This  time,  too,  I  shall  earn  considerable  money.  I  shall  remain 
here  a  few  weeks  more  and  then  go  to  Dresden,  Leipsic  and  Berlin.  It 
will  probably  be  six  weeks  before  I  shall  return.  I  hope  that  you 
will  be  more  and  more  pleased  with  your  sojourn  in  Vienna;  but  beware 
of  the  whole  guild  of  wicked  women.  Have  you  yet  called  on  Cousin 
Elss.-*  You  might  write  to  me  at  this  place  if  you  have  incUnation  and 
bme. 

,  .  J  ^^I.-  '^''^^  ^•"  '3  doubtless  Zmeskall,  who  is  thus  shown  to  have  been  a  trusted 
Inend  of  Beethoven's  in  1796.  "This  time"  indicates  plainly  that  Beethoven  had  been 
in  Prague  before.  Through  the  words:  "Greetings  to  Brother  Caspar"  the  pen  has 
been  heavily  drawn,  and.  if  the  color  of  the  ink  can  be  trusted  after  so  many  years,  it 
was  done  at  the  time  of  writing.     "F.  Linowsky"  is  FUrst  (Prince)  Lichnowsky. 


A  SojorRN  IN  Pr.\gue  and  its  Fruits  193 

F.  Linowsky  will  probably  soon  return  to  Vienna;  he  has  already 
gone  from  here.  If  you  need  money  you  may  go  to  him  boldly,  for  he 
still  owes  me  some. 

For  the  rest  I  hope  that  your  life  will  grow  continually  in  happiness 
and  to  that  end  I  hope  to  contribute  something.  Farewell,  dear  brother, 
and  think  occasionally  of 

Your  true,  faithful  brother 

L.  Beethoven. 
Greetings  to  Brother  Caspar. 

My  address  is  The  Golden  Unicorn 
on  the  Kleinseite. 

A  debt  of  gratitude  is  certainly  due  Johann  van  Beethoven 
for  having  carefully  preserved  this  letter  for  full  half  a  century 
and  leaving  it  to  his  heirs,  notwithstanding  all  the  troubles  which 
afterwards  arose  between  the  brothers,  since  it  is  hardly  more  val- 
uable and  interesting  for  the  facts  which  it  states  directly  than  for 
what  it  indicates  and  suggests  more  or  less  clearly. 

It,  with  other  considerations,  render  it  well  nigh  certain  that 
Beethoven  had  now  come  to  Prague  with  Prince  Lichnowsky  as 
Mozart  had  done,  seven  years  before,  and  that  upon  leaving 
Vienna  he  had  had  no  intention  of  pursuing  his  journey  farther; 
but  encouraged  by  the  success  thus  reported  to  his  brother,  he 
suddenly  determined  to  seek  instruction  and  experience,  pleasure, 
profit  and  fame  in  an  extended  tour.  Had  he  projected  this  jour- 
ney already  in  Vienna,  how  could  all  recollection  of  it  have  been  lost 
by  Wegeler?  How  could  von  Breuning  in  the  letter  cited  above  have 
omitted  all  mention  of  it?  Nor  is  it  possible  to  think  that  Beet- 
hoven, still  so  young  and  still  so  unknown  outside  the  Austrian 
and  Bohemian  capitals,  having  so  many  powerful  and  influential 
friends  there,  and  there  only,  could  at  this  time  have  gone  forth 
to  seek  elsewhere  some  permanent  position  with  a  fixed  salary. 
The  remarks  which  have  been  preserved,  made  by  him  in  writing 
or  conversation,  expressing  a  desire  for  such  an  api)ointment,  all 
belong  to  a  later  period,  and  cannot  by  any  torture  of  language 
be  made  to  refer  to  this,  when  he  was  looking  into  the  future  with 
well-grounded  hopes  and  serene  confidence  of  advancement  in  his 
new  home.  Vienna  seemed  to  offer  him  all  his  aml)ilion  could 
crave;  why  should  he  .seek  his  fortune  beyond  her  walls.'' 

It  is  pleasant  to  note  his  care  for  the  welfare  of  his  brother 
Johann,  which  care,  doubtless,  the  other  brother  did  not  need.  But 
how  could  Prince  Lichnowsky  have  been  indebted  to  Ludwig? 

The  musical  public  of  Prague  was  the  same  that  had  so  re- 
cently honored  itself  by  its  instant  and  noble  aj)prceiati()n  of 
Mozart,  and  had  given  so  glorious  a  welcome  to  "Figaro,"  "Don 


194  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

Giovanni"  and  "Titus."  There  being  no  royal  or  imperial  court 
there,  and  the  public  amusements  being  less  numerous  than  in 
Vienna,  the  nobility  were  thrown  more  on  their  own  resources  for 
recreation;  and  hence,  besides  the  traditional  taste  of  the  Bohe- 
mians for  instrumental  music,  their  capital  was,  perhaps,  a  better 
field  for  the  virtuoso  than  Vienna.  No  notice  of  any  public  con- 
cert given  by  Beethoven  on  this  visit  has  been  discovered,  either 
in  the  newspapers  of  the  time  or  in  the  reminiscences  of  Thoma- 
schek  and  others;  and  "the  considerable  money"  earned  "this 
time"  must  have  been  the  presents  of  the  nobility  for  his  perform- 
ances in  their  salons,  and,  perhaps,  for  compositions. 

The  conception  of  the  aria  "Ah,  perfido!  spergiuro"  is  gener- 
ally associated  with  Beethoven's  sojourn  in  Prague.  The  belief 
rests  upon  the  fact  that  upon  the  cover  of  a  copy  which  he  revised 
Beethoven  wrote  the  words  "Une  grande  Scene  mise  en  musique 
par  L.  V.  Beethoven  a  Prague,  1796."  On  the  first  page  is  written : 
Recitativo  e  Aria  composta  e  dedicata  alia  Signora  Contessa  di 
Clari  da  L.  v.  Beethoven.  The  opus  number,  46,  in  this  title  is 
in  the  handwriting  of  Al.  Fuchs,  who  owned  a  copy.  Now,  on 
November  21st,  1796,  Madame  Duschek,  the  well  known  friend 
of  Mozart,  at  a  concert  in  Leipsic  sang  "An  Italian  Scena  composed 
for  Madame  Duschek  by  Beethoven,"  and  it  was  easy  to  con- 
clude that  the  aria  was  really  written  by  Beethoven  for  Madame 
Duschek.  On  a  page  of  sketches  preserved  in  Berlin  among  others 
there  are  sketches  belonging  to  "Ah,  perfido!"  which  do  not  agree 
with  the  printed  page.  On  the  lower  margin  of  the  first  page 
is  the  remark:  pour  Mademoiselle  la  Comtesse  de  Clari.  Notte- 
bohm  is  led  by  these  things  to  surmise  that  the  aria  was  written  in 
Vienna  in  1795,  before  the  visit  to  Prague.  In  any  case,  we  are 
permitted  to  associate  the  date  1796  only  with  the  completion  of 
the  work  in  Prague;  and  the  purpose  may  well  have  been  to  have 
it  sung  by  Madame  Duschek,  who  is  thus  proved  to  have  belonged 
to  the  circle  of  Beethoven's  friends  in  Prague.  Nevertheless,  the 
aria  was  originally  intended  for  the  Countess  Josephine  Clari,  a 
well  known  amateur  singer  who  married  Count  Christian  Clam- 
Gal  las  in  1797.  The  scena  first  appeared  in  print  in  the  fall  of 
1805,  when  it  was  published  in  a  collection  made  by  Hoffmeister 
and  Kuhnel.  Beethoven  placed  it  upon  the  programme  of  his 
concert  in  1808. 

Another  family  in  which  Beethoven  was  received  on  the  foot- 
ing of  a  friend  was  that  of  Appellate  Councillor  Kanka.  Both 
father  and  son  were  dilettante  composers  and  instrumental  play- 
ers—the father  on   the  violoncello,  the  son  on  the  pianoforte. 


Incidents  of  a  Visit  to  Berlin  195 

Gerber  gives  them  a  place  in  his  Lexicon.  "Miss  Jeanette'*  (the 
daughter),  says  the  eulogistic  Schonfeld,  "played  the  pianoforte 
with  great  expression  and  skill."  The  son  adopted  his  father's 
profession,  became  a  distinguished  writer  on  Bohemian  law,  and  in 
later  years  did  Beethoven  good  service  as  legal  adviser. 

There  is  in  the  Artaria  collection,  a  thick  fascicle  of  sketches 
and  musical  fragments  from  Beethoven's  hand  in  which  papers 
from  the  Bonn  period  down  to  the  close  of  the  century  are  stitched 
together  in  such  disorder  as  to  show  that  they  were  thus  joined 
merely  for  preservation.  One  sheet  of  mere  sketches  bears,  if 
correctly  deciphered,  this  inscription:  "Written  and  dedicated  to 
Gr.  C.  G.  as  a  souvenir  of  his  stay  in  P."  On  the  fourth  page  of 
the  sheet  stands  "these  4  Bagtalles  by  B."  with  something  more 
illegible.  May  not  some  yet  unknown  composition  of  Beethoven 
be  still  in  the  possession  of  the  family  Clam-Gallas.''  Count 
Christian  and  his  two  daughters  are  numbered  by  Schonfeld 
among  the  fine  pianoforte  players  of  Prague,  and  these  few 
notices  exhaust  the  information  obtained  upon  this  visit  of  Beet- 
hoven there.  His  next  appearance  is  in  Berlin.  No  record  has 
been  found  of  the  proposed  visit  to  either  Dresden  or  Leipsic, 
although  his  journey,  it  would  seem,  must  have  taken  him 
through  the  Saxon  capital. 

In  after  years  he  was  fond  of  talking  about  his  sojourn  in 
Berlin,  and  some  particulars  have  thus  been  preserved.  "He 
played,"  says  Ries, 

several  times  at  court  (that  of  King  Frederick  William  H),  where  he 
played  the  two  grand  sonatas  with  obbligato  violoncello,  Op.  5,  written 
for  Duport,  first  violoncellist  of  the  King,  and  himself.  On  his  departure 
he  received  a  gold  snuff-box  filled  with  Louis  d'ors.  Beethoven  declared 
with  pride  that  it  was  not  an  ordinary  snviff-box,  but  such  an  one  as  it 
might  have  been  customary  to  give  to  an  ambassador. 

This  king  shared  his  uncle  Frederick  IPs  love  for  music,  while 
his  taste  was  better  and  more  cultivated.  His  instrument  was  the 
violoncello,  and  he  often  took  part  in  quartets  and  sonictinics  in 
the  rehearsals  of  Italian  operas.  He  exerted  a  j)ow(Tfiil  and  en- 
during influence  for  good  upon  the  musical  taste  of  Berlin.  It  was 
he  who  caused  the  operas  of  Gluck  and  Mozart  to  be  i)erf()rnu'd 
there  and  introduced  oratorios  of  Handel  into  the  court  concerts. 
His  appreciation  of  Mozart's  genius,  and  his  wish  to  attach  that 
great  master  to  his  court,  are  well  known;  and  these  facts  render 
credible  a  statement  with  which  Carl  Czerny  closes  a  description 
of  Beethoven's  extemporaneous  pK'iying  confril)uted  to  Cock's 
"London  Musical  Miscellany"  (August  2nd,  1852): 


100  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

.  .      f 
His  improvisation  was  most  brilliant  and  striking.     In  whatever 

company  he  might  chance  to  be,  he  knew  how  to  produce  such  an  effect 
upon  every  hearer  that  frequently  not  an  eye  remained  dry,  while  many 
would  break  out  into  loud  sobs;  for  there  was  something  wonderful  in 
his  expression  in  addition  to  the  beauty  and  originality  of  his  ideas  and 
his  spirited  style  of  rendering  them.  After  ending  an  improvisation  of 
this  kind  he  would  burst  into  loud  laughter  and  banter  his  hearers 
on  the  emotion  he  had  caused  in  them.  "You  are  fools!"  he  would  say. 
Sometimes  he  would  feel  himself  insulted  by  these  indications  of  sym- 
pathy. "Who  can  live  among  such  spoiled  children?"  he  would  cry,  and 
only  on  that  account  (as  he  told  me)  he  declined  to  accept  an  invitation 
which  the  King  of  Prussia  gave  him  after  one  of  the  extemporary 
performances  above  described. 

Chapelmaster  Reichardt  had  withdrawn  himself  from  Berlin 
two  years  before,  having  fallen  into  disfavor  because  of  his 
sympathy  with  the  French  Revolution.  Neither  Himmel  nor 
Rigliini,  his  successors,  ever  showed  a  genius  for  chamber  music  of 
a  high  order,  and,  indeed,  there  was  no  composer  of  reputation 
in  this  sphere  then  living  in  that  quarter.  The  young  Beethoven 
by  his  two  sonatas  had  proved  his  powers  and  the  King  saw  in  him 
precisely  the  right  man  to  fill  the  vacancy — no  small  proof  of  supe- 
rior taste  and  judgment.  What  the  German  expression  w^as  w^hich 
the  translator  of  Czerny's  letter  has  rendered  "accept  an  invitation 
which  the  King  gave  him"  there  is  no  means  of  knowing;  but  as 
it  stands  it  can  only  mean  an  invitation  to  enter  permanently 
into  his  service.  The  death  of  the  King  the  next  year,  of  course, 
prevented  its  being  ever  renewed. 

Friedrich  Heinrich  Himmel,  five  years  older  than  Beethoven, 
whom  the  King  had  withdrawn  from  the  study  of  theology  and 
caused  to  be  thoroughly  educated  as  a  musician,  first  under  Nau- 
mann  in  Dresden  and  afterw^ards  in  Italy,  had  returned  the  year 
before  and  had  assumed  his  duties  as  Royal  Pianist  and  Composer. 
As  a  virtuoso  on  his  instrument  his  only  rival  in  Berlin  was  Prince 
Louis  Ferdinand,  son  of  Prince  August  and  nephew  of  Frederick  II, 
two  years  younger  than  Beethoven  and  endowed  by  nature  with 
talents  and  genius  which  would  have  made  him  conspicuous  had 
fortune  not  given  him  royal  descent.  He  and  Beethoven  became 
well  known  to  each  other  and  each  felt  and  did  full  justice  to  the 
other's  musical  genius  and  attainments.  Now  let  Ries  speak 
again: 

In  Berlin  he  (Beethoven)  associated  much  with  Himmel,  of  whom 
he  said  that  he  had  a  pretty  talent,  but  no  more;  his  pianoforte  playing, 
he  said,  was  elegant  and  pleasing,  but  he  was  not  to  be  compared  with 
Pnnce  Louis  Ferdinand.  In  his  opinion  he  paid  the  latter  a  high  com- 
phment  when  once  he  said  to  him  that  his  playing  was  not  that  of  a 


Meetings  with  Hi^oiel,  Fasch  and  Zelter        197 

king  or  prince  but  more  like  that  of  a  thoroughly  good  pianoforte  player. 
He  fell  out  with  Himmel  in  the  following  manner:  One  day  when  they 
were  together  Himmel  begged  Beethoven  to  improvise;  which  Beet- 
hoven did.  Afterwards  Beethoven  insisted  that  Himmel  do  the  same. 
The  latter  was  weak  enough  to  agree;  but  after  he  had  played  for  quite 
a  time  Beethoven  remarked:  "Well,  when  are  you  going  fairly  to  begin.'*" 
Himmel  had  flattered  himself  that  he  had  already  performed  wonders; 
he  jumped  up  and  the  men  behaved  ill  towards  each  other.  Beethoven 
said  to  me:  "I  thought  that  Himmel  had  been  only  preluding  a  bit." 
Afterwards  they  were  reconciled,  indeed,  but  Himmel  could  never  forgive 
or  forgets  They  also  exchanged  letters  until  Himmel  played  Beethoven 
a  shabby  trick.  The  latter  always  wanted  to  know  the  news  from  Berlin. 
This  bored  Himmel,  who  at  last  wrote  that  the  greatest  news  from  Berlia 
was  that  a  lamp  for  the  blind  had  been  invented.  Beethoven  ran  about 
with  the  news  and  all  the  world  wanted  to  know  how  this  was  possible. 
Thereupon  he  wrote  to  Himmel  that  he  had  blundered  in  not  giving 
more  explicit  information.  The  answer  which  he  received,  but  which 
does  not  permit  of  communication,  not  only  put  an  end  to  the  corre- 
spondence but  brought  ridicule  upon  Beethoven,  who  was  so  inconsiderate 
as  to  show  it  then  and  there. 

\yith  Carl  Friedrich  Christian  Fasch  and  Carl  Friedrich 
Zelter  he  also  made  a  friendly  acquaintance,  and  twice  at  least 
attended  meetings  of  the  Singakademie,  which  then  numbered 
about  90  voices.  The  first  time,  June  21st,  says  the  "Gescliichte 
der  Singakademie": 

A  chorale,  the  first  three  numbers  of  the  mass  and  the  first  six 
of  the  119th  Psalm  were  sung  for  him.  Hereupon  he  seated  himself  at 
the  pianoforte  and  played  an  improvisation  on  the  theme  of  the  final 
fugue:  "Meine  Zunge  rtihmt  im  \Yettgesang  dein  Lob."  The  last  num- 
bers of  "Davidiana"  (a  collection  of  versets  by  Fasch)  formed  the  con- 
clusion. No  biographer  has  mentioned  this  visit  or  even  his  sojourn 
in  Berlin.  Nor  does  Fasch  pay  special  attention  to  it;  but  the  perform- 
ance must  have  pleased,  for  it  was  repeated  at  the  meeting  on  the  28th. 

The  performance  of  tlie  Society  must  also  liave  pleased 
Beethoven,  and  with  good  reason;  for  FascJi's  mass  was  in  sixteen 
parts  and  the  psalm  and  "Davidiana,"  in  part,  in  eight;  and  no 
such  music  was  then  to  be  heard  elsewhere  north  of  the  Al|)s. 

In  1810,  Beethoven,  speaking  of  his  playing  on  that  occasion, 
told  Mme.  von  Arnim  (then  Elizabeth  Brentano)  that  at  the  close 
his  hearers  did  not  a|)y)lau(l  but  came  crowding  around  him  weej)- 
ing;  and  added,  ironically,  "that  is  not  what  we  artists  wish  -we 
want  applause  I"    Fasch's  simple  record  of  Beetiioven's  visit  is  this: 

June  21,  1700.  Mr.  van  Beethoven  extemporized  on  the  "Davi- 
diana," taking  the  fugue  theme  from  Ps.  119,  No.  IG.  .  .  .  Mr.  Beethovea, 

'Beethoven  told  the  story  to  Mme.  von  Arnim  with  the  ncMilional  p.irtiriil.ar 
that  they  were  walking  in  Unter  den  Linden  and  went  thence  info  a  private  room  of 
the  principal  coffee-house  where  there  was  a  pianoforte,  for  the  exhil)ilion  of  tlieir  skill. 


IPS  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

pianist  from  Vienna,  was  so  accommodating  as  to  permit  us  to  hear  an 
iniprt)visation.  ,  .  .  June  28,  Mr.  van  Beethoven  was  again  so  obliging 
as  to  phiy  an  improvisation  for  us. 

Early  in  July,  the  King  left  Berlin  for  the  baths  of  Pyrmont, 
the  nobility  dispersed  to  their  estates  or  to  watering-places,  and 
the  city  "was  empty  and  silent."  Beethoven,  therefore,  could 
have  had  no  inducement  to  prolong  his  stay;  but  the  precise  time 
of  his  departure  is  unknown,  Schindler  names  Leipsic  as  one  of 
the  cities  in  which,  during  this  tour,  Beethoven  "awakened  interest 
and  created  a  sensation  by  his  pianoforte  playing,  and,  particu- 
larly, by  his  brilliant  improvisation";  but  no  allusion  in  any  public 
journal  of  that  or  any  subsequent  period,  not  even  the  faintest 
tradition,  has  been  discovered  to  confirm  the  evidently  erroneous 
statements.  Moreover,  Rochlitz  in  his  account  of  a  visit  to  the 
composer  in  1822  remarks,  "I  had  not  yet  seen  Beethoven";  and 

again,  "It  was  only  as  a  youth  that  he passed  through 

(Leipsic)."  So,  until  some  new  discovery  be  made,  this  must  also 
find  its  place  in  the  long  list  of  Schindler's  mistakes. 

Notwithstanding  Wegeler's  statement  ("Notizen,"  28)  that  he 
left  Beethoven  a  member  of  the  family  of  Prince  Lichnowsky  "in 
the  middle  of  1796,"  it  is  as  certain  as  circumstantial  evidence 
can  well  make  it  that  the  Doctor  and  Christoph  von  Breuning  had 
returned  to  Bonn  before  Beethoven  reached  Vienna  again;  but 
Stephan  and  Lenz  were  still  there.  The  former  obtained  at  this 
time  an  appointment  in  the  Teutonic  Order,  which  so  many  of  his 
ancestors  had  served,  and  his  name  appears  in  the  published  "Cal- 
endars of  the  Order"  from  1797  to  1803,  both  inclusive,  as  "Hof- 
rathsassessor."  He  then  soon  departed  from  Vienna  to  Mergent- 
heim,  whence  he  wrote  (November  23rd)  with  other  matters  the 
following  upon  Beethoven  to  Wegeler  and  Christoph: 

I  do  not  know  whether  or  not  Lenz  has  written  you  anything 
about  Beethoven;  but  take  notice  that  I  saw  hira  in  Vienna  and  that 
afoording  to  my  mind,  which  Lenz  has  confirmed,  he  has  become  some- 
what staider,  or,  perhaps  I  should  say,  has  acquired  more  knowledge 
of  humanity  through  travels  (or  was  it  because  of  the  new  ebullition 
of  friendship  on  his  arrival?)  and  a  greater  conviction  of  the  scarceness 
and  value  of  good  friends.  A  hundred  times,  dear  Wegeler,  he  wishes 
you  here  again,  and  regrets  nothing  so  much  as  that  he  did  not  follow 
much  of  your  advice.     ("Notizen,"  page  19.) 

Except  this  notice  of  his  bearing  and  demeanor,  there  is  a 
complete  hiatus  in  Beethoven's  history  from  his  appearance  in  the 
Singakademie  until  the  following  November.  The  so-called 
Fischoff  Manuscript  has,  it  is  true,  a  story  of  a  "dangerous  illness" 


Attempts  at  Patriotic  Music  199 

which  was  caused  by  his  own  imprudence  this  summer;  but  as  it 
is  in  date  utterly  irreconcilable  with  other  known  facts,  it  will 
receive  its  due  consideration  hereafter.  The  most  plausible  sug- 
gestion is  that  coming  back,  flushed  with  victory,  with  the  success 
of  his  tour  and  delighted  with  the  novelty  of  travelling  at  his  ease, 
he  made  that  excursion  to  Pressburg  and  Pesth  of  which  afterwards 
Ries  was  informed  and  made  record  ("Notizen,"  page  109),  but 
of  which  no  other  account  is  known. 

And  thus  we  come  to  November.  This  was  the  year  of  that 
astounding  series  of  victories  ending  at  Arcole,  gained  by  the  young 
French  general  Napoleon  Bonaparte.  The  Austrian  government 
and  people  alike  saw  and  feared  the  danger  of  invasion,  a  general 
uprising  took  place  and  volunteer  corps  were  formed  in  all  quarters. 
For  the  Vienna  corps,  Friedelberg  wrote  his  "Abschiedsgesang  an 
Wiens  Burger  beim  Auszug  der  Fahnen-Division  der  Wiener  Frei- 
williger,"  and  Beethoven  set  it  to  music.  The  original  printed 
edition  bears  date  "November  15,  1795."  It  does  not  appear  to 
have  gained  any  great  popularity,  and  a  drinking-song  ("Lasst  das 
Herz  uns  froh  erheben")  was  afterwards  substituted  for  Friedel- 
berg's  text,  and  published  by  Schott  in  Mayence. 

The  rapid  progress  of  the  French  army  had  caused  the  Ger- 
mans in  Italy  to  become  distrustful  of  the  future  and  to  hasten 
homeward.  Among  them  were  Beethoven's  old  companions  in 
the  Bonn  orchestra,  the  cousins  Andreas  and  Bernhard  Romberg, 
who  in  the  spring  of  this  year  (May  2Gth),  had  kissed  the  hand  of 
the  Queen  of  Naples,  daughter  of  the  Empress  Maria  Thorosia, 
and  then  departed  to  Rome  to  join  another  friend  of  the  Bonn 
period,  Karl  Kiigelgen,  The  three  coming  north  arrived  at  Vienna 
in  the  autumn;  the  Rombergs  remained  there  for  a  space  witli 
Beethoven,  while  Kiigelgen  proceeded  to  Berlin.  Baron  von 
Braun — not  to  be  mistaken  for  Beethoven's  "first  Mfecenas"  the 
Russian  Count  Browne — had  heard  the  cousins  the  year  before  in 
Munich  and  invited  them  "to  give  Vienna  an  opportunity  to  ]i(>ar 
them."  There  is  no  notice  of  tlieir  concert  in  iJic  Vienna  news- 
papers of  the  period,  and  the  date  is  unknown.  From  Lenz  von 
Breuning  is  gleaned  an  additional  fact  which  alone  gives  interest 
to  the  concert  for  us.  He  writes  to  Wegeler  in  January,  1797 — not 
1796,  as  erroneously  printed  in  the  a})])<'n(lix  to  tJu^  "Notizcn,"  page 
20 — and  after  the  meeting  with  the  von  Breunings  at  Nuremberg: 

Beethoven  is  here  again ;^  he  played  in  the  Romhorg  concert.  lie 
is  the  same  as  of  oM  anfl  I  am  glad  that  he  arul  tlic  RoinlxT^s  still  ^'et 
along  with  each  other.    Once  lu;  was  near  a  break  witli  llicm;  1  interceded 

'After  the  journey  to  Pesth? 


200  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

ami  juhiovod  my  end  to  a  fair  extent.  Moreover,  he  thinks  a  great 
deal  of  nie  just  now. 

It  it  clear  that  the  Rombergs,  under  the  circumstances,  must 
have  largely  owed  their  limited  success  to  Beethoven's  name  and 
influence.  In  February,  1797,  they  were  again  in  their  old  posi- 
tions in  Schroeder's  orchestra  in  Hamburg. 

Beethoven  during  this  winter  must  be  imagined  busily  en- 
gaged with  pupils  and  private  concerts,  perhaps  also  with  his 
operatic  studies  with  Salieri,  certainly  with  composition  and  with 
preparation  for  and  the  oversight  of  various  works  then  passing 
through  the  press;  for  in  February  and  April,  Artaria  advertises 
the  two  Violoncello  Sonatas,  Op.  5,  the  Pianoforte  Sonata  for  four 
hands.  Op.  6,  the  Trio,  Op.  3,  the  Quintet,  Op.  4,  and  the  Twelve 
Variations  on  a  Danse  Russe;  these  last  are  the  variations  which 
he  dedicated  to  the  Countess  Browne  and  which  gave  occasion 
for  the  anecdote  related  by  Ries  illustrating  Beethoven's  forgetful- 
ness ;  for  this  dedication  he  had  ^ 

received  a  handsome  riding-horse  from  Count  Browne  as  a  gift.  He 
rode  the  animal  a  few  times,  soon  after  forgot  all  about  it  and,  worse 
than  that,  its  food  also.  His  servant,  who  soon  noticed  this,  began  to 
hire  out  the  horse  for  his  own  benefit  and,  in  order  not  to  attract  the 
attention  of  Beethoven  to  the  fact,  for  a  long  time  withheld  from  him 
all  bills  for  fodder.  At  length,  however,  to  Beethoven's  great  amazement 
he  handed  in  a  very  large  one,  which  recalled  to  him  at  once  his  horse 
and  his  neglectfulness.     ("Notizen,"  page  120.) 

On  Thursday,  April  6, 1797,  Schuppanzigh  gave  a  concert,  on 
the  programme  of  which  Beethoven's  name  figured  twice.  Num- 
ber 2  was  an  "Aria  by  Mr.  van  Beethoven,  sung  by  Madame 
Tribolet  (-^Villmann) ;"  No.  3  was  "a  Quintet  for  Pianoforte  and  4 
wind-instruments,  played  and  composed  by  Mr.  L.  v.  Beethoven." 
This  was  the  beautiful  Quintet,  Op.  16,  the  time  of  whose  origin  is 
thus  more  definitely  indicated  than  in  the  "Chronologisches  Ver- 
zeichniss,"  a  fact  for  which  we  are  indebted  to  Nottebohm. 

But  the  war  was  renewed  and  the  thoughts  of  the  Viennese 
were  occupied  with  matters  more  serious  than  the  indulgence  of 
their  musical  taste.  On  the  16th  of  March,  Bonaparte  forced  the 
passage  of  the  Tagliamento  and  Isonzo.  During  the  two  weeks 
following  he  had  conquered  the  greater  part  of  Carniola,  Carinthia 
and  the  Tyrol,  and  was  now  rapidly  approaching  Vienna.  On  the 
11th  of  February,  Lorenz  Leopold  Hauschka's  "Gott  erhalte  unsern 
Kaiser"  with  Haydn's  music  had  been  sung  for  the  first  time  in  the 
theatre  and  now,  when,  on  April  7th,  the  Landsturm  was  called  out, 
Friedelberg  produced  his  war-song  "Ein  grosses,  deutsches  Volk 


A  Quiet  axd  Uneventful  Period  201 

sind  wir,"  to  which  Beethoven  also  gave  music.  The  printed  copy- 
bears  date  April  14th,  suggesting  the  probability  that  it  was  sung 
on  the  occasion  of  the  grand  consecration  of  the  banners  which 
took  place  on  the  Glacis  on  the  17th.  Beethoven's  music  was, 
however,  far  from  being  so  fortunate  as  Haydn's,  and  seems  to 
have  gained  as  little  popularity  as  his  previous  attempt;  but  as 
the  preliminaries  to  a  treaty  of  peace  were  signed  at  Leoben  on 
the  18th,  and  the  armies,  so  hastily  improvised,  were  dismissed 
three  weeks  afterwards,  the  taste  for  war-songs  vanished. 

The  little  that  is  known  of  Beethoven's  position  as  a  teacher 
at  this  period  is  very  vague  and  unsatisfactory;  enough,  however, 
to  render  it  sufficiently  certain  that  he  had  plenty  of  pupils,  many 
of  them  young  ladies  of  high  rank  who  paid  him  generously.  In 
the  triple  capacity  of  teacher,  composer  and  pianist  his  gains  were 
large  and  he  was  able  to  write  in  May  to  Wegeler  that  he  was 
doing  well  and  steadily  better. 

It  is  very  possible  that  the  illness  mentioned  by  the  Fischoff 
Manuscript  may  hav^e  occurred  during  this  summer.  There  can 
be  little  doubt  that  the  original  authority  for  the  statement  is 
Zmeskall,  and  therefore  the  fact  of  such  an  attack  may  be  accepted 
as  certain,  but  the  date — being,  as  there  given,  clearly  wrong,  as 
well  as  the  inference  that  in  it  lay  the  original  cause  of  the  com- 
poser's subsequent  loss  of  hearing — must  be  left  mainly  to  con- 
jecture. From  May  to  November,  1797,  Beethoven's  history  is 
still  a  blank  and  nothing  but  the  utter  silence  of  Lenz  von  Breuning 
in  his  correspondence  with  his  family  at  Bonn  on  a  topic  so 
likely  to  engage  his  vSympathies  as  the  dangerous  illness  of  his 
friend,  appears  to  prevent  the  filling  of  this  blank  in  part  by 
throwing  him  upon  a  bed  of  sickness.  True,  Lenz  may  have 
written  and  the  letter  have  been  lost  or  destroyed;  or  he  may 
have  neglected  to  write  because  of  his  approaching  departure 
from  Vienna,  which  took  place  in  the  autumn.  His  all)um,  still 
I)reserved,  has  among  its  contril)utors  Ludwig  and  Joliann  van 
Beethoven  and  Zmeskall.     Ludwig  wrote  as  follows: 

Truth  exists  for  the  wise. 
Beauty  for  a  feeling  heart: 
They  l)eloug  to  each  other. 

Dear,  ^ood  Breuning; 

Never  sliall  I  forget  the  time  which  I  spent  with  you  in  Honn 
as  well  as  here.  Hold  fast  your  friendship  for  me;  you  will  always  find 
me  the  same. 

Vienna  1797  Your  true  friend 

the  1st  of  October.  L.  v.  Beethoven. 


^l(H  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

Tliey  never  met  again.  Lenz  died  on  April  10th  of  the  follow- 
iiis?  year.  In  November,  Beethoven  enjoyed  a  singular  compliment 
paici  him  by  the  association  of  the  Bildende  Kiinstler— a  repetition 
of  his  minuets  and  trios  composed  two  years  before  for  the  artists' 
ball;  and  on  the  23rd  of  December,  he  again  contributed  to  the 
attractions  of  the  Widows'  and  Orphans'  Concert  by  producing 
the  Variations  for  two  Oboes  and  English  Horn  on  "La  ci  darem 
la  mano,"  played  by  Czerwenka,  Renter  and  Teimer.  His  publi- 
cations in  1797,  besides  those  mentioned  at  the  beginning  of  the 
vear,  were  the  Twelve  Variations  for  Pianoforte  and  Violoncello 
on  the  theme  from  Handel's  "Judas  Maccabaeus,"  precise  date 
unknown;  the  Pianoforte  Sonata,  Op.  7;  and  the  Serenade,  Op.  8, 
both  advertised  by  Artaria  and  Co.,  October  7th.  Finally,  the 
Rondo  in  C,  Op.  51,  No.  1,  published  by  Artaria  with  the  catalogue 
number  711. 


We  come  to  a  consideration  of  the  facts  touching  the  com- 
positions of  the  years  1796  and  1797. 

Among  the  most  widely  known  of  these  is  "Adelaide."  The 
composition  of  this  song  must  have  been  begun  in  the  first  half 
of  1795,  if  not  earlier,  for  sketches  of  it  are  found  among  the 
exercises  in  double  counterpoint  written  for  Albrechtsberger. 
Other  sheets  containing  sketches  for  "Adelaide"  and  the  setting 
of  Burger's  "Seufzer  eines  Ungeliebten"  are  preserved  in  the  library 
of  the  Gesellschaft  der  Musikfreunde  in  Vienna  and  the  British 
Museum  in  London.  The  song  was  published  by  Artaria  in  1797, 
under  the  title  "Adelaide  von  Matthisson.  Eine  Kantate  fiir  eine 
Singstimme  mit  Begleitung  des  Klaviers.  In  Musik  gesetzt  und 
dem  Verfasser  gewidmet  von  Ludwig  van  Beethoven."  The  opus 
number  46  was  given  to  it  later.  In  1800  Beethoven  sent  a  copy  of 
the  song  to  the  poet  and  accompanied  it  with  the  following  letter: 

Most  honored  Sir! 

You  are  herewith  receiving  from  me  a  composition  which  has  been 
in  print  for  several  years,  but  concerning  which  you  probably,  to  my 
shame,  know  nothing.  Perhaps  I  can  excuse  myself  and  explain  how 
it  came  about  that  I  dedicated  something  to  you  which  came  so  warmly 
from  my  heart  yet  did  not  inform  you  of  the  fact,  by  saying  that  at 
first  I  was  unaware  of  your  place  of  residence,  and  partly  also  I  was 
diffident,  not  knowing  but  that  I  had  been  over-hasty  in  dedicating  a 
work  to  you  without  knowing  whether  or  not  it  met  with  your  approval. 

Even  now  I  send  you  "Adelaide"  with  some  timidity.  You  know 
■what  changes  are  wrought  by  a  few  years  in  an  artist  who  is  contin- 
ally  going  forward;  the  greater  the  progress  one  makes  in  art  the  less 


The  Composition  of  ''Adel-\ide"  203 

one  is  satisfied  with  one's  older  works.  My  most  ardent  wish  will  be 
fulfilled  if  my  musical  setting  of  your  heavenly  "Adelaide"  does  not 
wholly  displease  you,  and  if  it  should  move  you  soon  to  write  another 
poem  of  its  kind,  and  you,  not  finding  my  request  too  immodest,  should 
send  it  to  me  at  once,  I  will  put  forth  all  my  powers  to  do  your  beautiful 
poetry  justice.  Look  upon  the  dedication  as  partly  a  token  of  the 
delight  which  the  composition  of  your  A.  gave  me,  partly  as  an  evidence 
of  my  gratitude  and  respect  for  the  blessed  pleasure  which  your  poetry 
has  always  given,  and  always  will  give  me. 

Vienna,  August  -ith,  1800. 

When  playing  "Adelaide"  sometimes  recall 
your  sincere  admirer 

Beethoven. 

Whether  or  not  Matthisson  answered  this  letter  is  not  known ; 
but  when  he  republished  "Adelaide"  in  the  first  volume  of  his 
collected  poems  in  1815,  he  appended  to  it  a  note  to  this  effect: 
"Several  composers  have  vitalized  this  little  lyric  fantasy  with 
music;  but  according  to  my  strong  conviction  none  of  them  so 
threw  the  text  into  the  shade  with  his  melody  as  the  highly  gifted 
Ludwig  van  Beethoven  in  Vienna."  The  "Opferlied,"  the  words 
of  which  were  also  written  by  Matthisson,  is  one  of  the  poems  to 
which  Beethoven  repeatedly  recurred.  "It  seems  always  to  have 
presented  itself  to  him  as  a  prayer,"  says  Nottebohm.  Its  last 
words,  "The  beautiful  to  the  good,"  were  written  in  autograph 
albums  even  in  his  later  years.  The  origin  of  the  composition 
is  to  be  ascribed  to  1795,  as  Nottebohm  enters  it  in  his  catalogue. 
It  was  thus  possible  for  Wegeler  to  know  it  in  1797,  when  he  put 
a  Masonic  text  under  the  music.  It  had  not  yet  been  published 
at  that  time,  however,  which  fact  accounts  for  the  discovery  of 
sketches  for  it  in  a  sketchbook  of  1798-1799  described  by  Notte- 
bohm. 

It  was  not  published  until  later,  probably  in  1808,  when  it 
came  with  two  other  songs  from  the  press  of  Simroc-k.  B(H'thuven 
composed  the  poem  a  second  time,  utilizing  the  beginning  of  his 
first  melody,  for  solo,  chorus  and  orchestra  (Op.  l'-21b).  To  this 
setting  we  shall  recur  hereafter.  There  is  still  anotlier  song  which 
must  be  })rought  into  tlie  story  of  this  period.  It  is  the  "Seufzer 
eines  Ungeliebten,"  with  its  two  parts  l)ased  on  two  independent 
but  related  poems  })y  BUrgcr.  Particular  interest  attaches  to  tJui 
second  part,  "Gegenliebe,"  from  the  fact  that  its  melody  was  used 
afterward  by  Beethoven  for  the  variations  in  the  "Clioral  Fan- 
tasia," Op.  80.  Sketches  for  this  melody  are  found  associated 
with  sketches  for  "Adelaide"  on  a  sheet  in  the  arrliives  of  tlie 
Gesellscliaft  der  Musikfreunde.     Nottebohm  fixes  the  year  of  the 


204  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

song's  origin  as  1795.  It  was  first  published  as  late  as  1837  by 
Diabolli  along  with  the  song,  "Turteltaube,  du  klagest,"  which  was 
composed  much  later.  The  Italian  song,  "O  care  selve,  o  cara 
folice  libertii"  (from  Metastasio's  "Olimpiade"),  entered  under 
number  1264  in  Thayer's  "Chronologisches  Verzeichniss,"  appears 
as  a  chorus  for  three  voices  at  the  end  of  the  Albrechtsberger 
exercises,  and  hence  may  be  placed  in  the  year  1795,  as  is  done  by 
Nottebohm,  who  adds  that  it  originated  simultaneously  with  the 
setting  of  "AVer  ist  ein  freier  Mann.?"  Here  mention  must  also 
be  made  of  two  arias  which  Beethoven  wrote  for  introduction  in 
Umlauf  s  comic  opera  "Die  schone  Schusterin."  These  songs  were 
assigned  to  the  Bonn  period  in  the  first  edition  of  this  biography 
because  the  opera  was  performed  in  Bonn  in  the  years  1789  and 
1790.  The  two  songs  composed  by  Beethoven  are  an  arietta,  or 
rather  strophic  song,  "O  welch'  ein  Leben''  for  tenor,  and  an  aria, 
"Soil  ein  Schuh  nicht  driicken?"  for  soprano.  The  words  of  the 
latter  are  in  the  original  libretto.  The  words  of  the  tenor  song, 
though  not  part  of  the  original  text,  were  obviously  written  for 
the  opera.  The  melody  was  afterward  used  by  Beethoven  as  a 
setting  for  Goethe's  "Mailied,"  published  in  1805,  as  Op.  52.  Both 
songs,  as  written  for  the  opera,  were  published  for  the  first  time 
in  the  Complete  Edition  of  Beethoven's  works  from  the  copies 
preserved  in  the  Berlin  Library. 

Most  important  of  the  instrumental  compositions  of  this 
period  is  the  Quintet  for  Strings,  Op.  4,  which  is  frequently  set 
down  as  an  arrangement  (or  revised  transcription)  of  the  Octet, 
Op.  103.  The  Quintet,  however,  though  it  employs  the  same 
motivi  as  the  Octet,  is  an  entirely  new  work,  made  so  by  the  radical 
changes  of  structure — changes  of  register  to  adapt  the  themes  to 
the  stringed  instruments  and  changes  in  the  themes  themselves. 
The  origin  of  the  Quintet  can  be  placed  anywhere  in  the  period 
from  1792  (when  the  Octet  was  probably  begun)  to  the  beginning 
of  1797,  when  the  Quintet  was  advertised  as  "wholly  new."  There 
is  a  clue  in  the  Wegeler  anecdote  already  related  in  connection 
with  the  String  Trio,  Op.  3,  in  the  chapter  of  this  work  devoted  to 
the  works  composed  in  Bonn.  In  1795,  Count  Appony  commis- 
sioned Beethoven  to  compose  a  quartet,  the  honorarium  being 
fixed.  Wegeler's  recollection  was  that  Beethoven  twice  undertook 
the  task;  but  the  first  effort  resulted  in  the  String  Trio  and  the 
second  in  "a  quintet  (Op.  4)."  There  is  not  sufficient  internal 
evidence  to  reject  the  story  so  far  as  it  affects  the  Quintet  (the 
Trio  has  already  been  subjected  to  study),  and  from  its  structure 
it  might  well  be  argued  that  the  composition  was  undertaken  as  a 


Numerous  Pieces  of  Chamber  Music  205 

quartet  and  expanded  into  a  quintet  in  the  hands  of  the  composer. 
If  Count  Appony's  commission  was  given  in  1795,  the  date  of  the 
completion  of  the  Quintet  may  be  set  down  as  1796.  Artaria, 
who  published  the  work,  advertised  it  in  the  "Wiener  Zeitung"  of 
February  8th,  1797. 

The  two  Sonatas  for  Pianoforte  and  Violoncello,  Op.  5,  belong 
to  the  year  1796,  and  are  the  fruits  of  the  visit  to  Berlin.  There  is 
no  reason  to  question  Ries's  story  that  Beethoven  composed  them 
for  Pierre  Duport  and  played  them  with  him.  The  dedication  to 
Friedrich  Wilhelm  II  and  the  character  of  the  works  lend  credil)il- 
ity  to  Ries's  account  of  their  origin.  Beethoven  played  them  with 
Bernhard  Romberg  in  Vienna  at  the  close  of  1796  or  beginning  of 
1797,  and  they  were  published  soon  afterward,  being  advertised 
by  Artaria  in  the  "Wiener  Zeitung"  of  February  8th,  1797.  The 
Twelve  Variations  on  a  theme  from  Handel's  "Judas  Maccabjpus," 
were  published  by  Artaria  in  1797,  dedicated  to  the  Princess  Lich- 
nowsky,  nee  Countess  Thun.  There  were  no  performances  of 
Handel's  oratorios  in  Vienna  at  this  time,  but  it  is  not  improbable 
that  the  suggestion  for  the  Variations  came  from  Baron  van 
Swieten. 

Here  seems  to  be  the  place  to  refer  to  the  Allegro  movement 
in  sonata-form  for  viola  and  violoncello  which  Beetlioven  gave  the 
title,  "Duett  mit  zwei  Augenglasern  obbligato  von  L.  v.  Beet- 
hoven" (Duet  with  two  Eyeglasses  obbligato,  by  L.  v.  Beethoven), 
to  be  found  in  the  volume  of  sketches  from  this  period  (1784-1800) 
which  the  British  Museum  bought  from  J.  N.  Kafka  in  1875.  ^ 
There  ought  to  be  a  hint  as  to  the  identity  of  the  two  ])layers 
"with  two  eyeglasses  obbligato."  Here  is  also  the  place  for  the 
three  Duos  for  Clarinet  and  Bassoon  first  published  by  Andre  in 
Offenbach.  The  Sextet  for  Wind-instruments  pul)lished  by  Breit- 
kopf  and  Ilartel  in  1810  (it  received  the  opus  number  71  later), 
belongs  to  this  period.  Sketches  for  the  last  movement,  which 
differ  from  the  ultimate  form,  however,  are  found  amongst  the 
sketches  for  the  Pianoforte  Sonata,  Op.  10,  No.  S.  The  iiucplion 
of  the  Sonata  must  fall  sometinu-  Ix'twecn  the  middle  of  17!)()  and 
the  mifidle  of  1798,  since  the  subscription  for  it  was  opened  in  the 
beginning  of  July,  1798,  and  other  works  of  a  similar  character 
were  already  completed  in  1797.  It  is,  therefore,  possible  to  place 
the  origin  of  the  earlier  movements  of  the  Sextet  in  an  earlier 
period,  say  1796-97,  a  proceeding  which  is  confirmed  i)y  the  cir- 
cumstance that  the  beginning  is  found   before  sketcJies  for  "Ah, 

"See  the  articles  by  J.  S.  Shedlock  in  "The  Mtisiral  Times."  June  to  December, 
1892.     Mr.  Shedlock  made  a  copy  of  the  duet  for  Dr.  Deitera. 


206  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

perfidol"  (which  was  composed  in  1796  at  the  latest),  on  a  sheet  of 
sketclios  in  the  Artaria  collection.  The  Kafka  volume  of  sketches 
in  the  British  JMuseum  contains  sketches  for  the  minuet  and  trio 
of  the  Sextet,  "Ah,  perfido!"  and  the  Pianoforte  Sonata,  Op.  49, 
No.  2.  This  fact  also  indicates  the  year  1796.  Beethoven  let  the 
work  lie  a  long  time.  It  had  its  first  hearing  at  a  chamber  con- 
cert for  the  benefit  of  Schuppanzigh  in  April,  1805;  but  it  was  not 
until  1809  that  he  gave  it  out  for  publication.  On  August  3rd 
of  that  year  he  wrote  to  Breitkopf  and  Hartel:  "By  the  next  mail- 
coach  you  will  receive  a  song,  or  perhaps  two,  and  a  sextet  for  wind- 
instruments,"  and  on  August  8th:  "The  sextet  is  one  of  my  earlier 
things  and,  moreover,  w^as  written  in  a  single  night — nothing  can 
really  be  said  of  it  beyond  that  it  was  written  by  an  author  who  at 
least  has  produced  a  few  better  works;  yet  for  many  people  such 
works  are  the  best."  The  statement  that  the  work  was  written 
in  a  single  night  must  be  taken  in  a  Pickwickian  sense,  for  sketches 
of  it  have  been  found. 

It  is  plain  that  at  this  time  Beethoven  had  a  particular  pre- 
dilection for  wind-instruments.  Erich  Prieger  owned  a  fragment 
of  a  Quintet  in  E-flat  for  Oboe,  three  Horns  and  Bassoon,  formerly 
in  the  possession  of  Artaria.  The  beginning  of  the  first  movement 
is  lacking,  but  can  be  supplied  from  the  repetition  in  the  second 
part.  The  Adagio  is  intact,  but  there  are  only  a  few  measures  of 
the  Minuet.  Influenced,  no  doubt,  by  the  performances  of  such 
compositions,  Beethoven  composed  at  this  time  two  works  for  two 
oboes  and  English  horn.  Nottebohm  surmises  that  they  were  in- 
stigated by  a  terzetto  for  two  oboes  and  English  horn  composed 
by  a  musician  named  Wendt  and  performed  at  a  concert  of  the 
Tonkiinstler-Gesellschaft  by  three  brothers,  Johann,  Franz  and 
Philipp  Teimer,  on  December  23rd,  1793.  One  of  the  two  works, 
the  Trio  which  was  published  as  Op.  87,  is  pretty  well  known, 
since  it  was  made  accessible  to  wider  circles  by  arrangements  pub- 
lished in  Beethoven's  day  and  with  his  approval,  Artaria  pub- 
lished it  in  April,  1806,  without  opus  number.  He  also  published 
it  for  two  violins  and  viola  as  Op.  29,  and  finally  as  a  Sonata  for 
Pianoforte  and  Violin.  The  last  transcription  was  published  first, 
as  stated  in  Thayer's  Catalogue.  Nothing  of  a  historical  nature 
is  known  of  the  Variations  on  "La  ci  darem"  for  the  same  instru- 
ments beyond  the  fact  that  they  w^ere  performed  on  December 
23rd,  1797,  at  the  concert  for  the  benefit  of  the  Widows  and  Orphans 
in  the  National  Court  Theatre.  On  a  free  page  of  the  autograph 
(after  the  sixth  variation)  there  are  some  miscellaneous  sketches, 
among  them  a  motive  for  the  Adagio  of  Op.  3,  another  which  was 


Predilection  for  Wixd-Ixstrumexts  207 

used  in  the  Serenade,  Op.  25,  and,  more  remarkable  still,  a  few 
measures  of  "Adelaide,"  on  whicli  he  was  at  work  in  1793,  and 
which  appeared  in  print  in  1797.  Obviously,  the  Variations  were 
finished,  and  we  may  set  down  at  the  latest  the  year  1795  for  their 
beginning. 

The  Sextet  for  four  stringed  instruments  and  two  horns.  Op. 
81b,  also  belongs  to  this  early  period  and  in  all  likelihood  was  con- 
ceived before  the  Sextet  for  wind-instruments.  Sketches  for  the 
first  two  movements  are  upon  a  sheet  in  the  Berlin  library  by  the 
side  of  sketches  for  the  song,  "Seufzer  eines  Ungeliebten." 
Sketches  for  this  song  keep  company  with  some  for  "Adelaide.'* 
The  Sextet  is  therefore  to  be  credited  to  the  year  1795,  or  perhaps 
179-1.  It  was  published  in  1819  by  Simrock  in  Bonn.  In  a  letter 
which  Beethoven  sent  to  Simrock  with  the  MS.  (but  which  has 
been  lost)  he  had  written  to  the  pul)lisher,  who  was  an  admirable 
horn  player,  that  "the  pupil  had  given  his  master  many  a  hard 
nut  to  crack."  As  to  whether  or  not,  and  if  so  when  and  where, 
the  Sextet  had  been  played  before  being  sent  to  Simrock  there  is, 
as  yet,  no  conclusive  evidence. 

The  beautiful  Quintet  in  E  flat,  Op.  16,  for  Pianoforte  and 
Wind-instruments,  was  played  at  a  concert  given  by  Scliuppanzigh 
on  April  6tli,  1797,  being  number  5  on  the  programme  which  de- 
scribed it  as  "A  Quintet  for  the  Fortepiano  accompanied  by  four 
Wind-instruments,  played  and  composed  by  Mr.  Ludwig  van 
Beethoven."  It  liad  probably  })een  completed  not  long  before. 
Sketches  are  found  in  connection  with  a  remark  concerning  tlie 
Sonata  in  C  minor.  Op.  10,  No.  1. 

It  was  in  all  probability  composed  between  1794  and  the  be- 
ginning of  1797.  In  the  minutes  of  a  meeting  of  the  Tonkiinstler- 
Gesellschaft  under  date  May  10th,  1797,  occurs  this  entry:  "On 
the  second  day  Mr.  van  Beethoven  produced  a  Quintet  and  dis- 
tinguished liimself  in  the  Quintet  and  incidentally  by  an  iuiprovi- 
sation."  The  word  "dabey"  (incidentally)  seems  to  indicate  that 
lie  introduced  an  imi)rovisation  in  the  Quintet  as  he  did  on  a  later 
occasion  to  the  embarrassment  of  the  other  i)laycrs,  but  to  the 
delight  of  the  listeners.  Ries  tells  the  story  in  liis  "Xoti/.en," 
p.  79.  It  was  at  a  concert  at  which  the  famous  oboist  Friedrich 
Kamm,  of  Municli,  took  ])art. 

In  the  final  Allegro  there  occur  several  holds  before  a  resiuuption 
of  the  theme.  At  one  of  these  Beethoven  suddenly  he^'an  to  improvise", 
took  tlie  Rorulo  as  a  theme  a?ul  entertained  himself  and  the  (dliers  for 
a  consideral>lc  space;  but  not  his  assoei.ites.  They  were  displeased,  an<l 
Ramm  even  enraged  {aiifgehracht).     It  really  was  comical  to  see  these 


208  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

gentlemen  waiting  expectantly  every  moment  to  go  on,  continually 
lifting  their  instruments  to  their  lips,  then  quietly  putting  them  down 
again.  At  last  Beethoven  was  satisfied  and  dropped  again  into  the 
Rondo.     The  entire  audience  was  delighted. 

"NVasielewski  doubts  the  correctness  of  the  story,  since  there  is 
but  one  hold  in  the  Finale.  Dr.  Deiters  thought  that  Ries  con- 
founded the  last  with  the  first  movement,  in  which  the  clarinet 
enters  after  a  fermata.  The  Quintet  was  published  by  Mollo  in 
Vienna  in  1801,  and  was  dedicated  to  Prince  Schwarzenberg.  It 
appeared  simultaneously  in  one  arrangement  made  by  Beethoven 
liimself  as  a  Quartet  for  Pianoforte  and  Strings,  as  Ries  expressly 
declares.  Beethoven  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  arrangement  as 
a  String  Quartet  published  by  Artaria  as  Op.  75. 

Touching  the  history  of  the  Serenade  for  Violin,  Viola  and 
Violoncello,  Op.  8,  little  else  is  know^n  beyond  the  fact  that  its 
publication  was  announced  in  the  "Wiener  Zeitung"  on  October 
7th,  1797,  by  Artaria.  Mr.  Shedlock  called  attention  in  the 
"Musical  Times"  of  1892  (p.  525)  to  sketches  'which  appeared 
along  with  others  of  the  Pianoforte  Concerto  in  B-flat,  and  the 
Trio,  Op.  1,  No.  2.  That  Beethoven  valued  the  w^ork  highly  is  a 
fair  deduction  from  the  fact  that  he  published  it  soon  after  its 
composition  and  authorized  the  publication  of  an  arrangement  for 
Pianoforte  and  Viola  which  he  had  revised.  This  arrangement 
received  the  opus  number  42,  though  probably  not  from  Beethoven. 
Hoffmeister  in  Leipzig,  who  published  it  in  1804,  under  the  title 
"Xotturno  pour  Fortepiano  et  Alto  arrange  d'un  Notturno  pour 
Violon,  Alto  et  Violoncello  et  revu  par  I'auteur — (Euvre  42,"  ad- 
vertised it  in  the  "Intelligenzblatt  der  Zeitschrift  fiir  die  elegante 
Welt"  on  December  17,  1803.  It  is  this  arrangement,  no  doubt, 
to  whicli  Beethoven  referred  in  a  letter  to  Hoffmeister,  dated 
September  22nd,  1803,  in  which  he  said:  "These  transcriptions 
are  not  mine,  though  they  w'ere  mucli  improved  by  me  in  places. 
Therefore,  I  am  not  willing  to  have  you  state  that  I  made  them, 
for  that  would  be  a  lie  and  I  could  find  neither  time  nor  patience 
for  such  work."  According  to  the  view  of  Dr.  Deiters,  which  was 
shared  also  by  Nottebohm,  the  Serenade,  Op.  25,  also  belongs  here. 
It  was  probably  composed  before  Op.  8.  Beethoven  entrusted  its 
publication  in  the  beginning  of  1802  to  Cappi,  who  had  just  begun 
business.  Then,  like  Op.  8,  it  was  published  by  Hoffmeister  as 
Op.  41,  in  an  arrangement  for  Pianoforte  and  Flute  (or  Violin), 
which,  no  doubt,  was  included  in  Beethoven's  protest  against  being 
set  down  as  the  transcriber. 


A  Group  of  Pl\noforte  Sonatas       209 

Prominent  among  the  compositions  of  this  time  is  the  Sonata 
in  E-flat  for  Pianoforte,  Op.  7.  The  only  evidence  of  the  date  of 
its  composition  is  the  announcement  of  its  pubhcation  by  Artaria 
in  the  "Wiener  Zeitung"  of  October  7th,  1797.  There  are  sketches 
for  the  third  movement  in  the  Kafka  volume,  but  they  afford  no 
help  in  fixing  a  date.  The  Sonata  is  inscribed  to  the  Countess 
Babette  Keglevich,  one  of  Beethoven's  pupils,  who  afterwards 
married  Prince  Innocenz  Odescalchi  in  Pressburg.  Nottebohm 
quotes  the  following  from  a  letter  written  by  a  nephew  of  the 
Countess:  "The  Sonata  was  composed  for  her  when  she  was  still 
a  maiden.  It  was  one  of  the  hobbies,  of  which  he  (Beethoven) 
had  many,  that,  living  as  he  did  vis-a-vis,  he  came  in  morning 
gown,  slippers  and  tasseled  cap  (Zipfelmiitze)  to  give  her  lessons." 
Inasmuch  as  the  sketches  mentioned  belong  only  to  the  third 
movement  and  the  sheet  contains  the  remark :  "diverse  4  bagatelles 
de  inglese  Landler,  etc.,"  Nottebohm  supposes  that  the  movement 
was  originally  intended  for  one  of  the  Bagatelles  and  was  later 
incorporated  in  the  Sonata.  It  is  very  probable  that  the  two 
little  Sonatas,  Op.  49,  belong  to  this  period.  Everybody  knows 
that  the  second  movement  of  the  second  Sonata  (the  minuet)  is 
based  on  the  same  motive  as  the  third  movement  of  the  Septet. 
That  the  motive  is  older  in  the  Sonata  than  in  the  Septet  is 
proved  by  the  fact  that  sketches  for  it  are  found  along  with  some 
to  "Ah,  perfido!"  (1795-96)  and  the  Sextet  for  Wind-instruments, 
Op.  71.  This  circumstance  establishes  its  early  origin,  say  in 
1795  or,  at  latest,  1796.  Nottebohm  considers  it  likely  that  the 
first  Sonata  was  finished  at  the  latest  in  1798,  certainly  before 
the  Sonata  "Patheticjue"  and  the  Trio  for  strings.  Op.  9,  No.  .S. 
The  Sonatas  were  ready  for  publication  as  early  as  ISO'J,  in  which 
year  brother  Carl  offered  them  to  Andre  in  Offenbach,  'i'hcy 
were  not  published  until  1805,  when  they  appeared  with  tJie 
imprint  of  the  Bureau  d'Arts  et  dTiulustrie,  as  ai)])ears  from  ;iii 
advertisement  in  the  "Wiener  Zeitung"  of  January  l!)tJi.  ISO."). 
Here,  too,  belongs  the  little  Sonata  in  1)  for  fonr  Jiands,  Op.  (J, 
published  by  Artaria  in  Octol)er,  1797,  as  Nottebolini  surmises. 
It  was  probably  composed  for  purposes  of  instruction.  Except 
a  few  trifles  (marches,  and  two  sets  of  variations)  Beethoven 
wrote  nothing  more  for  four  hands,  tliough  Diabelli  ofrcicd  him 
40  ducats  for  .i  four-hand  sonata  in  18'24. 

In  the  pianoforte  conijjositions  of  these  two  years  arc  to  be 
included  tlie  \'ariations  in  A  on  a  llussian  dance  from  the  ballet 
"Das  Waldniadchcn,"  published  in  April,  17!)7,  and  dedicated  to 
the  Countess  Browne,  7iee  Bietinghoff.     "Das  Waldmadchen,"  by 


^210  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

Traffieri,  music  by  Paul  Wranitzky,  was  first  performed  at  the 
KiirntJiiiortlior-Tlieater  on  September  28,  1796,  and  was  repeated 
sixteen  times  the  same  year.  This  fixes  the  time  of  the  composi- 
tion of  tlie  Variations  approximately.  They  were  probably  written 
before  the  end  of  1796. 

There  are  a  few  other  compositions  brought  to  light  by  Notte- 
})ohm  and  Mandyczewski,  which  call  for  notice.  No.  299,  Series 
XXV  (Supplement),  B.  and  H.  Complete  Works,  is  an  Allegretto 
in  C  minor,  ^  time;  No.  295  a  Bagatelle,  also  in  C  minor  %, 
Presto,  sketches  for  which  are  associated  with  those  for  the  C 
minor  Sonata,  Op.  10,  No.  1.  From  the  remark:  "Very  short 
minuets  to  the  new  sonatas.  The  Presto  remains  for  that  in  C 
minor,"  written  about  this  time  Nottebohm  concludes  that  this 
Bagatelle  was  conceived  as  an  intermezzo  in  the  C  minor  Sonata, 
and  that,  possibly,  the  Allegretto  had  a  similar  origin.^ 

A  unique  place  among  Beethoven's  early  works  is  occupied  by 
the  two  pieces  for  mandolin  with  pianoforte  accompaniment  first 
published  in  the  Complete  Edition.  Thayer,  who  knew  of  the 
sketches  at  Artaria's,  but  seems  not  to  have  seen  the  composition 
recovered  by  Nottebohm,  which  is  called  Sonatine,  associated 
Beethoven's  purpose  with  Krumpholz,  who  was  a  virtuoso  on  the 
mandolin;  but  Mylich,  Amenda's  student  companion,  may  have 
been  in  the  composer's  mind. 

The  fact  that  no  compositions  for  orchestra  save  the  dances 
for  the  Redoutensaal,  to  be  referred  to  presently,  have  been  pre- 
served, is  not  to  be  taken  as  conclusive  evidence  that  Beethoven 
did  not  venture  into  the  field  of  orchestral  music  in  the  Bonn  and 
early  Vienna  days.  Such  an  assertion  is  less  likely  to  be  made  now 
than  before  the  discovery  of  the  two  Imperial  cantatas  of  1790. 
^Moreover,  IVIr.  Shedlock's  extracts  from  the  Kafka  sketchbook  in 
the  British  ISIuseum  show  that  Beethoven  tried  his  youthful  hand 
at  a  symphony.  Among  the  earliest  of  the  sketches  there  is  one 
in  C  minor  marked  "Sinfonia,"  which  begins  as  follows: 

Presto 


^>T;iJ|r-irrhfnHJljJ^lr^^ 


Baas:  C. 


Nottebohm  notes  the  theme  also  in  his  "Zweite  Beethoveniana" 
(p.  577).  Shedlock's  contention  that  out  of  this  theme  grew  the 
second  movement  of  the  first  Pianoforte  Quartet  (composed  in 

'"Beethoveniana."  p.  31.     Later  Beethoven  wanted  to  give  the  Sonata  an  Inter- 
mezzo m  C  major  {Ibid.,  p.  479j,  but  did  not  carry  out  the  intention. 


The  "Jena"  Symphony  and  Some  Dances         211 

1785)  is  incontestable.  The  symphonic  sketch  is  therefore  of 
earher  date  than  1785.  In  1909,  Prof.  Fritz  Stein,  Musical  Director 
of  the  University  of  Jena,  announced  that  in  the  collection  of  music 
of  the  Academic  Concerts,  founded  in  1780,  he  had  discovered  the 
complete  parts  of  a  symphony  in  four  movements  in  C  "par  Louis 
van  Beethoven."  These  words  are  in  the  handwriting  of  the  copy- 
ist on  the  second  violin  part;  on  the  'cello  part  is  written:  "Sym- 
phonic von  Beethoven."  Dr.  Hugo  Riemann,^  after  a  glance 
through  the  score  prej^ared  by  Prof.  Stein  and  put  at  his  disposal, 
gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  symphony  might  well  be  a  com- 
position by  Beethoven.  Thematically,  he  says  it  suggests  partly 
the  Mannheim  school,  partly  Haydn;  the  instrumentation  is 
nearer  Mozart  than  Stamitz  or  Cannabich. 

Mention  of  Beethoven's  orchestral  dances  has  already  been 
made.  Schindler's  remark  that  the  musicians  of  Vienna  "refused 
citizenship"  to  Beethoven's  efforts  to  write  Austrian  dance  music 
is  discredited,  at  least  so  far  as  Viennese  societv  is  concerned,  bv 
the  success  of  his  dances  composed  for  the  Redoutensaal  and  the 
very  considerable  number  of  his  waltzes,  liindlers,  minuets,  ecos- 
saises,  allemandes  and  contra-dances  which  have  been  preserved. 
Only  the  smaller  portion  of  these  dances  have  been  included  in  the 
Complete  Edition  of  Breitkopf  and  Hartel.  Thus  in  Series  II 
there  are  12  minuets  and  12  German  dances;  in  Series  XXV 
(Supplement),  6  "Landrische  Tanze"  for  two  violins  and  bass,  6 
German  dances  for  pianoforte  and  violin,  and,  for  pianoforte  alone, 
6  German  dances,  G  ecossaises  and  a  few  miscellaneous  dances; 
in  Series  X\  III  (Small  Pieces  for  Pianoforte)  there  are  0  minuets 
and  13  "Landrische"  (1-6  identical  with  those  numbered  7-18  in 
Series  II,  but  transcribed).  There  are  many  dances  as  yet  unpub- 
lished. For  instance,  among  the  Artaria  IVISS.  ])urchase(l  by 
Erich  Prieger,  there  are  12  ecossaises,  of  which  (5  are  as  yet  un- 
known, also  12  "Deutsche"  for  j)ianoforte  and  (5  miuuets  for  two 
violins  ancl  bass,  which  have  never  been  j)rinl('(l.  'i'lie  three 
orchestral  dances  noted  by  'J'hayer  in  the  'JMieuialic:  Catalogue  as 
No.  290,  of  the  Artaria  collection,  are  Nos.  3,  9  and  II  of  the 
12  minuets  which  A.  von  Perger  discovered  in  the  archives  of  the 
Kiinstler-Pensions-Institut  in  1872,  and  wliirh  wcrr  published  by 
Ileugel  in  Paris  in  pianoforte  transcription  in  1903  and  in  score  ,-ind 
parts  in  ]f)Of),  edited  by  Chantavoine.  'i'hey  were  coiiii)osed  for 
the  Klinstlersocietiit  and  are  now  in  the  Court  Ij'br;ir>-  al  \  ienna. 
(MS.  10,925.) 

'S«-o  Vol.  II,  p.  60,  of  the  revised  edition  of  "Ludwig  van   Beethoven's  Lcben" 
by  Thayer,  lUlO. 


Chapter  XV 


General  Bernadotte — His  Connection  with  the  "Heroic'* 
Symphony — Rival  Pianists — J.  Wolffl — Dragonetti  and 
Cramer — Compositions  of  the  Years  1798  and  1799. 

EARLY  in  the  year  1798,  a  political  event  occurred  which 
demands  notice  here  from  its  connection  with  one  of 
Beethoven's  noblest  and  most  original  works — the  "Sin- 
fonia  Eroica."  The  singular  tissue  of  error  which,  owing  to 
carelessness  in  observing  dates,  has  been  woven  in  relation  to  its 
origin  may  be  best  destroyed  by  a  simple  statement  of  fact. 

The  extraordinary  demands  made  by  the  French  Directory 
upon  the  Austrian  government  as  preliminary  to  the  renewal  of 
diplomatic  intercourse,  after  the  peace  of  Campo  Formio — such  as 
a  national  palace  and  French  theatre  for  the  minister  and  the 
right  of  jurisdiction  over  all  Frenchmen  in  the  Austrian  dominions 
— all  of  which  were  rejected  by  the  Imperial  government,  had 
aroused  to  a  high  pitch  the  public  curiosity  both  as  to  the  man  who 
might  be  selected  for  the  appointment  and  as  to  the  course  he 
might  adopt.  This  curiosity  was  by  no  means  diminished  by  the 
intelligence  that  the  new  minister  was  Jean  Baptiste  Bernadotte, 
the  young  general  who  had  borne  so  important  a  part  in  the  recent 
invasion  of  Istria.  He  arrived  in  Vienna  on  February  5th,  1798. 
The  state  of  the  Empress's  health,  who  was  delivered  of  the  Arch- 
dufhess  Maria  Clementine  on  the  1st  of  March,  delayed  the  private 
audience  of  Bernadotte  for  the  presentation  of  his  credentials  to 
the  Emperor  until  the  second  of  that  month,  and  his  public  audience 
until  the  8th  of  April.  During  the  festivities  of  the  court,  which 
then  took  place,  Bernadotte  was  always  present,  and  a  reporter  of 
that  day  says  both  the  Emperor  and  Empress  held  more  conver- 
sation with  him  than  with  any  other  of  the  "cercle."  This  familiar 
intercourse,  however,  came  speedily  to  an  end;  for  on  the  13th 
Bernadotte  had  the  rashness  to  display  the  hated  tricolor  from  his 
balcony  and  to  threaten  to  defend  it  by  force.  A  riot  occurred, 
and  it  was  thought  that  in  the  extreme  excitement  of  popular  feeling 

[212] 


Bernadotte  and  the  Heroic  Sysiphony  213 

nothing  but  the  strong  detachments  of  cavalry  and  infantry  de- 
tailed for  his  protection  saved  his  life — saved  it  to  ascend  the  throne 
of  Sweden  on  the  twentieth  anniversary  of  his  arrival  in  Vienna! 

Since  etiquette  allowed  a  foreign  minister  neither  to  make  nor 
receive  visits  in  his  public  capacity  until  after  his  formal  reception 
at  court,  the  General,  during  the  two  months  of  his  stay,  except 
the  last  five  days,  "lived  very  quietly."  Those  who  saw  him 
praised  him  as  "well  behaved,  sedate  and  modest."  In  his  train 
was  Rudolph  Kreutzer,  the  great  violinist. 

Bernadotte  had  now  just  entered  his  34th  year;  Kreutzer  was 
in  his  32nd;  both  of  them,  therefore,  in  age,  as  in  tastes  and  ac- 
quirements, fitted  to  appreciate  the  splendor  of  Beethoven's  ge- 
nius and  to  enjoy  his  society.  Moreover,  as  the  Ambassador  was 
the  son  of  a  provincial  advocate,  there  was  no  difference  of  rank 
by  birth,  which  could  prevent  them  from  meeting  upon  equal  terms. 
Under  such  circumstances,  and  remembering  that  just  at  that 
epoch  the  young  General  Bonaparte  was  the  topic  of  universal 
wonder  and  admiration,  one  is  fully  prepared  for  the  statement  of 
Schindler  upon  the  origin  of  the  "Heroic"  Symphony: 

The  first  idea  for  the  symphony  is  said  to  have  gone  out  from 
General  Bernadotte,  then  French  Ambassador  in  Vienna,  who  esteemed 
Beethoven  very  highly.  This  I  heard  from  several  of  Beethoven's 
friends.  I  was  also  told  so  by  Count  Moritz  Lichnowsky  (brother  of 
Prince  Lichnowsky),  who  was  often  in  the  society  of  Bernadotte  with 
Beethoven.  .  .  . 

Again  in  1823: 

Beethoven  had  a  lively  recollection  that  Bernadotte  had  really 
first  inspired  him  with  the  idea  of  the  "Eroica"  Symphony. 

This  is  from  Schindler's  work  in  its  first  form.  His  unfortu- 
nate propensity  sometimes  to  accept  the  illusions  of  his  fancy  for 
matters  of  fact  is  exliibited  in  the  corresponding  passage  in  his 
third  edition: 

In  Bcrnuflotte's  salon,  which  was  opvn  to  notal)iliti('s  of  all  ranks 
of  life,  Beethoven  also  ai)i>eare(i.  II<;  hud  already  m:uU'.  it  known  that 
he  was  a  great  admirer  of  the  First  Consul  of  the  Rej)Mhlie.  From  the 
General  emanated  the  SMgf,'estion  tliat  Beethoven  e<'lcl)r;il<'  flw'  ^'rratest 
hero  of  his  a^e  in  a  musical  com|)osition.  It  was  not  long  (!)  before  the 
thought  had  become  a  deed.     (Vol.  I,  page  101.) 

In  proceeding  with  the  history  of  the  Syinf)hony,  Schindler 
extracts  largely  from  Beethoven's  own  copy  of  Sc]ilei(>nnac}ier's 
translation  of  Plato.     That  the  idea  of  Bonaparte  as  First  Consul 


21 -i  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

may  have  influenced  the  form  and  matter  of  the  Symphony,  when 
he  came  to  the  hibor  of  its  composition,  and  that  Beethoven  may 
liavc  based  for  liimself  a  sort  of  system  of  political  ethics  upon 
Schloiorniacher's  Plato — all  this  is  very  possible;  but  Bernadotte 
was  far  away  from  Vienna  before  the  consular  form  of  government 
was  adopted  at  Paris,  and  the  "Sinfonia  Eroica"  had  been  pub- 
licly performed  at  Vienna  before  the  Plato  came  from  the  Berlin 
press ! 

It  is  certainly  to  be  regretted  that  so  much  fine  writing  by 
Scliindler  and  his  copyists  on  this  point  should  be  exploded  by  a 
date — like  a  ship  by  a  single  shell;  but  how  could  anyone  believe 
that  the  much-employed  Beethoven,  at  the  age  of  27,  he  who  had 
refused  two  years  before,  even  despite  Wegeler's  urging,  to  listen 
to  a  single  private  lecture  on  Kant,  had  become  in  so  short  a  time 
a  Platonic  philosopher? 

Let  us  return  to  a  field  where  Beethoven  was  even  now  more 
at  home  than  he  ever  became  in  Plato's  political  philosophy. 
Salieri  had  again  engaged  him  for  the  "Widows  and  Orphans" 
concerts  of  April  1st  and  2nd  at  which  Haydn's  "Seven  Last  Words" 
was  sung  and  Beethoven's  Pianoforte  Quintet  played.  Kaiser 
Franz  and  the  imperial  family  were  present. 

It  was  now  no  longer  the  case  that  Beethoven  was  without  a 
rival  as  pianoforte  virtuoso.  He  had  a  competitor  fully  worthy  of 
his  powers;  one  who  divided  about  equally  with  him  the  suffrages 
of  the  leaders  in  the  Vienna  musical  circles.  In  fact  the  excellencies 
peculiar  to  the  two  were  such  and  so  different,  that  it  depended 
upon  the  taste  of  the  auditor  to  which  he  accorded  the  praise  of 
superiority.  Joseph  Wolffl  of  Salzburg,  two  years  younger  than 
Beethoven,  a  "wonder-child,"  who  had  played  a  violin  concerto 
in  public  at  the  age  of  seven  years,  was  a  pupil  of  Leopold  Mozart 
and  Michael  Haydn.  Being  in  Vienna,  when  but  eighteen  years 
old,  he  was  engaged,  on  the  recommendation  of  Mozart,  by  the 
Polish  count  Oginsky,  who  took  him  to  Warsaw.  His  success 
there,  as  pianoforte  virtuoso,  teacher  and  composer,  was  almost 
unexampled.  But  it  is  only  in  his  character  as  pianist  that  we 
have  to  do  with  him;  and  a  reference  may  be  made  to  the  general 
principle,  that  a  worthy  competition  is  the  best  spur  to  genius. 
When  we  read  in  one  of  his  letters  Beethoven's  words  "I  have  also 
greatly  perfected  my  pianoforte  playing,"  they  will  cause  no  sur- 
prise; for  only  by  severe  industry  and  consequent  improvement 
could  he  retain  his  high  position,  in  the  presence  of  such  rivals  as 
Wolffl  and,  a  year  or  two  later,  J.  B.  Cramer.  A  lively  picture  of 
Wolffl  by  Tomaschek,  who  heard  him  in  1799,  in  his  autobiography 


Rivalry  of  Beethoven  and  Wolffl  21 


o 


sufficiently  proves  that  his  party  in  Vienna  was  composed  of  those 
to  whom  extraordinary  execution  was  the  main  thing;  while  Beet- 
hoven's admirers  were  of  those  who  had  hearts  to  be  touched.  A 
parallel  between  Beethoven  and  Wolffl  in  a  letter  to  the  "Allgemeine 
Musikalische  Zeitung"  (Vol.  I,  pp.  24,  25)  dated  April  22,  1799,  just 
at  the  time  when  the  performances  of  both  were  topics  of  general 
conversation  in  musical  circles,  and  still  fresh  in  the  memory  of 
all  who  had  heard  them,  is  in  the  highest  degree  apposite  to  the 
subject  of  this  chapter.     The  writer  says: 

Opinion  is  divided  here  touching  the  merits  of  the  two;  yet  it 
would  seem  as  if  the  majority  were  on  the  side  of  the  latter  (WolflB). 
I  shall  try  to  set  forth  the  peculiarities  of  each  without  taking  part  in 
the  controversy.  Beethoven's  playing  is  extremely  brilliant  but  has 
less  delicacy  and  occasionally  he  is  guilty  of  indistinctness.  He  shows 
himself  to  the  greatest  advantage  in  improvisation,  and  here,  indeed, 
it  is  most  extraordinary  with  what  lightness  and  yet  firmness  in  the 
succession  of  ideas  Beethoven  not  only  varies  a  theme  given  him  on 
the  spur  of  the  moment  by  figuration  (with  which  many  a  virtuoso  makes 
his  fortune  and — wind)  but  really  develops  it.  Since  the  death  of 
Mozart,  who  in  this  respect  is  for  me  still  the  non  plus  ultra,  I  have 
never  enjoyed  this  kind  of  pleasure  in  the  degree  in  which  it  is  provided 
by  Beethoven.  In  this  Wolffl  fails  to  reach  him.  But  W.  has  advan- 
tages in  this  that,  sound  in  musical  learning  and  dignified  in  his  compo- 
sitions, he  plays  passages  which  seem  impossible  with  an  ease,  precision 
and  clearness  which  cause  amazement  (of  course  he  is  helped  here  by 
the  large  structure  of  his  hands)  and  that  his  interpretation  is  always, 
especially  in  Adagios,   so  pleasing  and   insinuating  tiiat  one  can   not 

only  admire  it  but  also  enjoy That  Wolffl  likewise  enjoys  an 

advantage  because  of  his  amiable  bearing,  contrasted  with  the  some- 
what haughty  pose  of  Beethoven,  is  very  natural. 

No  biography  of  Beethoven  which  makes  any  pretence  to 
completeness,    can   omit   the   somewhat   inflated   and   bombastic 
account  which  Seyfried  gives  of  the  emulation  between  Beethoven 
and  Wolffl.     Ignatz  von  Seyfried  at  the  period  in  cpiestion  was  one 
of  Schikaneder's  conductors,  to  which  position  he  had  been  called 
when  not  quite  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  had   assumed   its 
duties  March  1,  1797.     lie  was  among  the  most  promising  of  (he 
young  composers  of  the  capital,  belonged  to  a  highly  respectable 
family,  had  been  educated  at  tlie  University,  and  his  personal  char- 
acter was  unblemished.     He  would,  therefore,  naturally  have  access 
to  the  musical  salons  and  his  reminiscences  of  music  and  musicians 
in  those  years  may  be  accei)ted  as  the  records  of  observation.     The 
unfavorable  light  which  the  researches  of  Nottebolun  have  thrown 
upon  him  as  editor  of  the  so-called  "Beethoven  Shidien"  does  not 
extend  to  such  statements  of  fact  as  might  easily  have  come  under 


216  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

his  own  cognizance;  and  the  passage  now  cited  from  the  appendix 
of  the  "Studien,"  though  written  thirty  years  after  the  events  it 
describes,  bears  all  the  marks  of  being  a  faithful  transcript  of  the 
writer's  own  memories: 

Beethoven  had  already  attracted  attention  to  himself  by  several 
compositions  and  was  rated  a  first-class  pianist  in  Vienna  when  he  was 
confronted  by  a  rival  in  the  closing  years  of  the  last  century.     Thereupon 
there  was,  in  a  way,  a  revival  of  the  old  Parisian  feud  of  the  Gluckists 
and  Piccinists,  and  the  many  friends  of  art  in  the  Imperial  City  arrayed 
themselves  in  two  parties.     At  the  head  of  Beethoven's  admirers  stood 
the  amiable  Prince  Lichnowsky;  among  the   most   zealous  patrons  of 
Wolffl  was  the  broadly  cultured  Baron  Raymond  von  Wetzlar,  whose 
delif,'htful  villa  (on  the  Griinberg  near  the  Emperor's  recreation-castle) 
offered  to  all  artists,  native  and  foreign,  an  asylum  in  the  summer  months, 
as  pleasing  as  it  was  desirable,  with  true  British  loyalty.     There  the 
interesting   combats  of   the   two   athletes   not   infrequently  offered  an 
indescribable  artistic  treat  to  the  numerous  and  thoroughly  select  gath- 
ering.    Each  brought  forward  the  latest  product  of  his  mind.     Now 
one  and  anon  the  other  gave  free  rein  to  his  glowing  fancy;  sometimes 
they  would  seat  themselves  at  two  pianofortes  and  improvise  alternately 
on  themes  which  they  gave  each  other,  and  thus  created  many  a  four- 
hand  Capriccio  which  if  it  could  have  been  put  upon  paper  at  the  moment 
would  surely  have  bidden  defiance  to  time.    It  would  have  been  difficult, 
perhaps  impossible,  to  award  the  palm  of  victory  to  either  one  of  the 
gladiators  in  respect  of  technical  skill.     Nature  had  been  a  particularly 
kind  mother  to  Wolffl  in  bestowing  upon  him  a  gigantic  hand  which 
could  span  a  tenth  as  easily  as  other  hands  compass  an  octave,  and 
permitted  him  to  play  passages  of  double  notes  in  these  intervals  with 
the  rapidity  of  lightning.     In  his  improvisations  even  then  Beethoven 
did  not  deny  his  tendency  toward  the  mysterious  and  gloomy.     When 
once  he  began  to  revel  in  the  infinite  world  of  tones,  he  was  trans- 
ported also  above  all  earthly  things; — his  spirit  had  burst  all  restricting 
bonds,  shaken  off  the  yoke  of  servitude,  and  soared  triumphantly  and 
jubilantly   into   the   luminous  spaces   of   the   higher   aether.     Now   his 
playing  tore  along  like  a  wildly  foaming  cataract,  and  the  conjurer 
constrained  his  instrument  lo  an  utterance  so  forceful  that  the  stoutest 
structure  was  scarcely  able  to  withstand  it;  and  anon  he  sank  down, 
exhausted,   exhaling   gentle   plaints,   dissolving   in    melancholy.     Again 
the  spirit  would  soar  aloft,  triumphing  over  transitory  terrestrial  suf- 
ferings, turn  its  glance  upward  in  reverent  sounds  and  find  rest  and  com- 
fort on  the  innocent  bosom  of  holy  nature.     But  who  shall  sound  the 
depths  of  the  sea?     It  was  the  mystical  Sanscrit  language  whose  hiero- 
glyphs can  be   read   only  by   the   initiated.     Wolffl,  on  the   contrary, 
trained  in  the  school  of  Mozart,  was  always  equable;  never  superficial 
but  always  clear  and  thus  more  accessible  to  the  multitude.     He  used 
art  only  as  a  means  to  an  end,  never  to  exhibit  his  acquirements.     He 
always  enlisted  the  interest  of  his  hearers  and  inevitably  compelled 
them  to  follow  the  progression  of  his  well-ordered  ideas.     Whoever  has 
heard  Hummel  will  know  what  is  meant  by  this.    .   .    . 


ToMASCHEK  ON  Beethoven's  Playing  217 

But  for  this  (the  attitude  of  their  patrons)  the  proteges  cared  very 
little.  They  respected  each  other  because  they  knew  best  how  to  appre- 
ciate each  other,  and  as  straightforward  honest  Germans  followed  the 
principle  that  the  roadway  of  art  is  broad  enough  for  many,  and  that 
it  is  not  necessary  to  lose  one's  self  in  envy  in  pushing  forward  for  the 
goal  of  fame! 

Wolffl  proved  his  respect  for  his  rival  by  dedicating  to  "M.  L. 
van  Beethoven"  the  pianoforte  sonatas.  Op,  7,  which  were  highly 
commended  in  the  "Allg.  Mus.  Zeit."  of  Leipsic  of  January,  1799. 
Another  interesting  and  valuable  discussion  of  Beethoven's  powers 
and  characteristics  as  a  pianoforte  virtuoso  at  this  period  is  con- 
tained in  the  autobiography  of  Tomaschek,  who  heard  him  both  in 
public  and  in  private  during  a  visit  which  Beethoven  made  again 
this  year  to  Prague.  Tomaschek  was  then  both  in  age  (he  was 
born  on  April  17,  1774)  and  in  musical  culture  competent  to  form 
an  independent  judgment  on  sucli  a  subject. 

In  the  year  1798,  says  Tomaschek  (unfortunately  without  giving  any 
clue  to  the  time  of  the  year),  in  which  I  continued  my  juridical  studies, 
Beethoven,  the  giant  among  pianoforte  players,  came  to  Prague.  He 
gave  a  largely  attended  concert  in  the  Konviktssaal,  at  which  he  played 
his  Concerto  in  C  major,  Op.  15,  and  the  Adagio  and  graceful  Rondo 
in  A  major  from  Op.  2,  and  concluded  with  an  improvisation  on  a  theme 
given  him  by  Countess  Sch...  (Schick?),  "Ah  tu  fosti  il  primo  oggetto," 
from  Mozart's  "Titus"  (duet  No.  7).  Beethoven's  magnificent  playing 
and  particularly  the  daring  flights  in  his  improvisation  stirred  me 
strangely  to  the  depths  of  my  soul;  indeed  I  found  myself  so  profoundly 
bowed  down  that  I  did  not  touch  my  pianoforte  for  several  days.  .  .  . 
I  heard  Beethoven  at  his  second  concert,  which  neither  in  performance 
nor  in  composition  renewed  again  the  first  powerful  impression.  This 
time  he  played  the  Concerto  in  B-flat  which  he  had  just  composed  in 
Prague.'  Then  I  heard  him  a  third  time  at  the  home  of  ('ount  C,  whore 
he  played,  besides  the  graceful  Rondo  from  the  A  major  Sonata,  an 
imi)rovisation  on  the  theme:  ".Vh!  vous  dirai-je,  Manuui."  Tliis  time  1 
listened  to  Beethoven's  artistic  work  with  more  composure,  i  admired 
his  powerful  and  brilliant  playing,  but  his  frequent  daring  deviations 
from  one  motive  to  another,  whereby  the  organic  connection,  the 
gr.'idual  (lev('lof)ment  of  idea  was  put  aside,  did  not  escape  me.  Kyils 
of  this  nature  frequently  weaken  his  greatest  compositions,  those  which 
sprang  from  a  too  exuberant  conception.  It  is  not  seldom  I  hat  the 
unbiassed  listener  is  ruddy  awakened  from  his  transport.  'Hk;  singular 
anfl  original  seemed  to  be  his  chief  aim  in  composition,  as  is  confirmed 
by  the  answer  which  he  made  to  a  lady  who  asked  him  if  he  often 
attended  Mozart's  operas.  "I  do  not  know  them,"  he  replied,  *'a»id  do 
not  care  to  hear  the  music  of  others  lest  I  forfeit  some  of  my  originality." 

'It  will  be  seen  in  a  litter  of  Beethoven's  that  this  concerto  was  in  fact  composed 
before  that  in  C  major;  but  it  is  not  improbable  that  the  last  movement  was  written 
in  Prague. 


218  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

The  veteran  Tomaschek  when  he  wrote  thus  had  heard  all  the 
greatest  virtuosos  of  the  pianoforte,  who,  from  the  days  of  Mozart 
to  1840,  had  made  themselves  famous;  and  yet  Beethoven  re- 
mained for  him  still  "the  lord  of  pianoforte  players"  and  "the 
giant  among  pianoforte  players."  Still,  great  as  he  was  now  when 
Tomaschek  heard  him,  Beethoven  could  write  three  years  later  that 
he  had  greatly  perfected  his  playing. 

It  is  only  to  be  added  to  the  history  of  the  year  1798,  that  it  is 
the  time  in  which  Beethoven  fixes  the  beginning  of  his  deafness. 
Like  it,  the  year  1799  offers,  upon  the  whole,  but  scanty  materials 
to  the  biographers  of  Beethoven — standing  in  broad  contrast  to 
the  next  and,  indeed  all  succeeding  years,  in  which  their  quantity 
and  variety  become  a  source  of  embarrassment. 

Two  new  and  valuable,  though  but  passing  acquaintances,  were 
made  by  Beethoven  this  year,  however — with  Domenico  Drago- 
netti,  the  greatest  contrabassist  known  to  history,  and  John  Baptist 
Cramer,  one  of  the  greatest  pianists.  Dragonetti  was  not  more 
remarkable  for  his  astounding  execution  than  for  the  deep,  genuine 
musical  feeling  which  elevated  and  ennobled  it.  He  was  now — 
the  spring  of  1799,  so  far  as  the  means  are  at  hand  of  determining 
the  time — returning  to  London  from  a  visit  to  his  native  province, 
and  his  route  taking  him  to  Vienna  he  remained  there  for  several 
weeks.  Beethoven  and  he  soon  met  and  they  were  mutually 
pleased  with  each  other.  Many  years  afterwards  Dragonetti  re- 
lated the  following  anecdote  to  Samuel  Appleby,  Esq.,  of  Brighton, 
England:  "Beethoven  had  been  told  that  his  new  friend  could  exe- 
cute violoncello  music  upon  his  huge  instrument,  and  one  morning, 
when  Dragonetti  called  at  his  room,  he  expressed  his  desire  to  hear 
a  sonata.  The  contrabass  was  sent  for,  and  the  Sonata,  No.  2, 
of  Op.  5,  was  selected.  Beethoven  played  his  part,  with  his  eyes 
immovably  fixed  upon  his  companion,  and,  in  the  finale,  where  the 
arpeggios  occur,  was  so  delighted  and  excited  that  at  the  close  he 
sprang  up  and  threw  his  arms  around  both  player  and  instrument." 
The  unlucky  contrabassists  of  orchestras  had  frequent  occasion 
during  the  next  few  years  to  know  that  this  new  revelation  of  the 
powers  and  possibilities  of  their  instrument  to  Beethoven,  was  not 
forgotten. 

Cramer,  born  at  Mannheim,  1771,  but  from  early  infancy 
reared  and  educated  in  England,  was  successively  the  pupil  of  the 
noted  Bensor,  Schroeter  and  Clementi;  but,  like  Beethoven,  was 
in  no  small  degree  self-taught.  He  was  so  rarely  and  at  such  long 
intervals  on  the  Continent  that  his  extraordinary  merits  have  never 
been  fully  understood  and  appreciated  there.     Yet  for  a  period  of 


Cil\mer's  Recollections  of  Beethoven  219 

many  years  in  the  first  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  he  was  un- 
doubtedly, upon  the  whole,  the  first  pianist  of  Europe,  The  object 
of  his  tour  in  1799  was  not  to  display  his  own  talents  and  acquire- 
ments, but  to  add  to  his  general  musical  culture  and  to  profit  by 
his  observations  upon  the  styles  and  peculiar  characteristics  of  the 
great  pianists  of  the  Continent.  In  Vienna  he  renewed  his  inter- 
course with  Haydn,  whose  prime  favorite  he  had  been  in  England, 
and  at  once  became  extremely  intimate  with  Beethoven. 

Cramer  surpassed  Beethoven  in  the  perfect  neatness,  correct- 
ness and  finish  of  his  execution;  Beethoven  assured  him  that  he 
preferred  his  touch  to  that  of  any  other  player;  his  brilliancy  was 
astonishing;  but  yet  taste,  feeling,  expression,  were  the  qualities 
which  more  eminently  distinguished  him.  Beethoven  stood  far 
above  Cramer  in  power  and  energy,  especially  when  extemporizing. 
Each  was  supreme  in  his  own  sphere;  each  found  much  to  learn  in 
the  perfections  of  the  other;  each,  in  later  years,  did  full  justice  to 
the  other's  powers.  Thus  Ries  says:  "Amongst  the  pianoforte 
players  he  [Beethoven]  had  praise  for  but  one  as  being  distin- 
guished— John  Cramer.  All  others  were  but  little  to  him."  On 
the  other  hand,  Mr.  Appleby,  who  knew  Cramer  well,  was  long 
afterwards  told  by  him,  "No  man  in  these  days  has  heard 
extempore  playing,  unless  he  has  heard  Beethoven." 

Making  a  visit  one  morning  to  him,  Cramer,  as  he  entered  the 
anteroom,  heard  Beethoven  extemporizing  by  himself,  and  re- 
mained there  more  than  half  an  hour  "completely  entranced," 
never  in  his  life  having  heard  such  exquisite  effects,  sucJi 
beautiful  combinations.  Knowing  Beethoven's  extreme  dislike 
to  being  listened  to  on  such  occasions,  Cramer  retired  and  never 
let  him  know  that  lie  had  so  heard  him. 

Cramer's  widow  communicates  a  pleasant  anecdote.  At  an 
Augarten  Concert  the  two  pianists  were  walking  togetlior  and  hear- 
ing a  performance  of  Mozart's  pianoforte  Concerto  in  C  minor 
(Kcichel,  No.  491);  Beethoven  suddenly  stood  still  and,  directing 
his  c()my)ani()n's  attention  to  the  exceedingly  simple,  but  (Miually 
beautiful  motive  which  is  first  introduced  towards  tlu;  end  of  the 
piece,  exclaimed:  "Cramer,  Cramer!  we  shall  never  be  able  to  do 
anything  like  that!"  As  the  theme  was  repeated  and  \\  ron^jil  up 
to  the  climax,  Beethoven,  swaying  his  body  to  and  fro,  marked 
the  time  and  in  every  j)ossil)le  manner  manifested  a  delighl  rising 
to  enthusiasm. 

ScJiindler's  record  of  his  conversations  upon  lieellioven  with 
Cramer  and  Chenibini  in  IS-H  is  interesting  and  vahiable.  He 
has,  however,  left  one  important  consideration  unnoticed,  namely, 


•220  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

t}iat  the  visits  of  those  masters  to  Vienna  were  five  years 
apart — five  years  of  great  change  in  Beethoven — a  period  during 
wliich  his  deafness,  too  slight  to  attract  Cramer's  attention,  had 
increased  to  a  degree  beyond  conceahnent,  and  which,  joined  to  his 
increased  devotion  to  composition  and  compulsory  abandonment 
of  all  ambition  as  a  virtuoso,  with  consequent  neglect  of  practice, 
had  affected  his  execution  unfavorably.  Hence  the  difference  in 
the  opinions  of  such  competent  judges  as  Cramer,  describing  him 
as  he  was  in  1799-1800,  Cherubini  in  1805-6,  and  two  years  later 
Clementi,  afford  a  doubtless  just  and  fair  indication  of  the  decline 
of  Beethoven's  powers  as  a  mere  pianist — not  extending,  however, 
at  least  for  some  years  yet,  to  his  extemporaneous  performances. 
We  shall  find  from  Ries  and  others  ample  confirmation  of  the  fact. 
And  now  let  Schindler  speak: 

To  the  warm  feeling  of  Cramer  for  Beethoven  I  owe  the  more 
important  matters.  .  .  .  Cherubini,  disposed  to  be  curt,  characterized 
Beethoven's  pianoforte  playing  in  a  single  word:  "rough."  The  gentle- 
man Cramer,  however,  desired  that  less  offence  be  taken  at  the  rudeness 
of  his  performance  than  at  the  unreliable  reading  of  one  and  the  same 
composition — one  day  intellectually  brilliant  and  full  of  characteristic 
expression,  the  next  freakish  to  the  verge  of  unclearness;  often  confused. 
(Which  is  confirmed  by  Ries,  Czerny  and  others.)  Because  of  this  a 
few  friends  expressed  a  wish  to  hear  Cramer  play  several  works  publicly 
from  the  manuscript.  This  touched  a  sensitive  spot  in  Beethoven; 
his  jealousy  was  aroused  and,  according  to  Cramer,  their  relations  be- 
came strained. 

This  strain,  however,  left  no  such  sting  behind  it  as  to  diminish 
Cramer's  good  opinion  of  Beethoven  both  as  man  and  artist,  or 
hinder  his  free  expression  of  it.  To  this  fact  the  concurrent  testi- 
mony of  his  widow  and  son,  and  those  enthusiasts  for  Beethoven 
Charles  Neate,  Cipriani  Potter  and  others  who  knew  Cramer  well, 
bear  witness.  It  was  the  conversation  of  Cramer  about  Beethoven 
which  induced  Potter,  after  the  fall  of  Napoleon,  to  journey  to 
Vienna,  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  the  great  master  and,  if 
possible,  become  his  pupil. 

Cramer's  musical  gods  were  Handel  and  Mozart,  notwith- 
standing his  life-long  love  for  Bach's  clavier  compositions;  hence 
the  abrupt  transitions,  the  strange  modulations,  and  the,  until 
then,  unheard  passages,  which  Beethoven  introduced  ever  more 
freely  into  his  works — many  of  which  have  not  yet  found  universal 
acceptance — were  to  him,  as  to  Tomaschek  and  so  many  other  of 
his  contemporaries,  imperfections  and  distortions  of  compositions, 
which  but  for  them  were  models  of  beauty  and  harmonious  propor- 
tion.    He  once  gave  this  feeling  utterance  with  comic  exaggeration. 


Beethoven's  Demeanor  in  Society  221 

when  Potter,  then  a  youth,  was  extolling  some  abstruse  combina- 
tions, by  saying:  "If  Beethoven  emptied  his  inkstand  upon  a  piece 
of  music  paper  you  would  admire  it!" 

Upon  Beethoven's  demeanor  in  society,  Schindler  proceeds 
thus: 

The  communications  of  both  (Cramer  and  Madame  Cherubini) 
agreed  in  saying  that  in  mixed  society  his  conduct  was  reserved,  stiff 
and  marked  by  artist's  pride;  whereas  among  his  intimates  he  was  droll, 
lively,  indeed,  voluble  at  times,  and  fond  of  giving  play  to  all  the  arts 
of  wit  and  sarcasm,  not  always  wisely  especially  in  respect  of  political 
and  social  prejudices.  To  this  the  two  were  able  to  add  much  concerning 
his  awkwardness  in  taking  hold  of  such  objects  as  glasses,  coffee  cups, 
etc.,  to  which  Master  Cherubini  added  the  comment:  "Toujours 
brusque."  These  statements  confirmed  what  I  had  heard  from  his  older 
friends  touching  the  social  demeanor  of  Beethoven  in  general. 

Cramer  reached  Vienna  early  in  September,  and  remained 
there,  according  to  Schindler,  through  the  following  winter;  but 
he  does  not  appear  to  have  given  any  public  concerts,  although, 
during  the  first  month  of  his  stay,  we  learn  from  a  newspaper,  he 
"earned  general  and  deserved  applause  by  his  playing."  It  is 
needless  to  dwell  upon  the  advantages  to  Beethoven  of  constant 
intercourse  for  several  months  with  a  master  like  Cramer,  whose 
noblest  characteristics  as  pianist  were  the  same  as  ]Mozart's,  and 
precisely  those  in  which  Beethoven  was  deficient. 


Let  us  pass  in  review  the  compositions  whicli  had  their  origin 
in  the  years  1798  and  17!)0.  First  of  all  couu'  the  three  Trios  lor 
stringed  instruments,  Op.  9.  The  exact  date  of  their  conception 
lias  not  yet  been  deteniiined,  all  that  is  positive  being  that  Beet- 
hoven sold  tliem  to  'JVaeg  on  March  1(5,  1798,  and  that  the  pub- 
lisher's announcement  of  them  appeared  on  July  21st  of  the  same 
year.  The  only  sketches  for  tlie  Trios  (pioted  by  Notteboluu  show 
them  in  connection  with  a  sketch  for  the  last  movement  of  the 
"Sonate  pathetique,"  which  was  |)tiblis]i('d  in  1799;  but  this  proves 
nothing.  It  may  l)e  easily  imagiru'd  that  Beethoven  desired  to 
make  more  extended  use  of  tlu^  cx[)erieiiee  gained  in  writing  the 
Trios,  Op.  3,  and  that  he  therefore  began  sketching  Op.  9  in  17!)(> 
or  1797.  Beethoven  dedicated  the  works  to  Count  Browne  in 
words  such  as  could  hardly  have  been  called  forth  by  the  present 
of  a  horse.  Perhaps  .some  future  investigator  will  be  al>le  to  show 
upon  what   grounds   Beethoven   in  the   dedication    called    Count 


'22'2  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

Browne  his  "first  Maecenas,"  a  title  better  deserved  by  Prince 
Liclinowsky. 

The  first  two  concertos  for  pianoforte  call  for  consideration 
here,  for  it  was  not  until  1798  that  they  acquired  the  form  in  which 
they  are  now  known.  That  the  Concerto  in  B-flat  was  the  earlier 
of  the  two  has  been  proved  in  a  preceding  chapter  of  this  volume. 
It  was  this  Concerto  and  not  the  one  in  C  major  (as  Wegeler  incor- 
rectly reported)  that  was  played  in  March,  1795.  Wegeler's  error 
was  due  to  the  circumstance  that  the  Concerto  in  C  was  published 
first.  Sketches  for  the  Concerto  in  B-flat  major  are  found  among 
the  exercises  written  for  Albrechtsberger,  sketches  for  the  Sonata 
in  E  major  (Op.  14,  No.  1),  and  others  for  a  little  quartet  movement 
which  was  owned  by  M.  Malherbe  of  Paris;  on  this  sheet  occurs 
a  short  exercise  with  the  remark  "Contrapunto  all'  ottava"  which 
points  to  the  beginning  of  1795  or  even  1794.  The  sketch  is  an 
obviously  early  form  of  a  passage  in  the  free  fantasia.  This  agrees 
with  the  statement  that  on  March  29,  1795,  Beethoven  played  a 
new  concerto,  the  key  of  which  is  not  indicated.  It  is  most  likely 
that  it  was  this  in  B-flat,  since  the  one  in  C  did  not  exist  at  the 
time.  Beethoven,  it  appears,  played  it  a  few  times  afterward  in 
Vienna  and  then  rewrote  it.  According  to  Tomaschek's  account 
he  played  the  B-flat  Concerto  (expressly  distinguished  from  that  in 
C)  in  1798,  again  in  Prague.  Tomaschek  added,  "which  he  had 
composed  in  Prague."  This  is  confounding  the  original  version 
with  the  revision,  concerning  which  Nottebohm  gives  information 
in  his  "Zweite  Beethoveniana"  on  the  basis  of  sketches  which 
point  to  1798.  The  fact  of  the  revision  is  proved  by  Beethoven's 
memoranda,  such  as  "To  remain  as  it  was,"  "From  here  on  every- 
thing to  remain  as  it  w^as."  The  revision  of  the  first  movement  was 
radical,  and  the  entire  work  was  apparently  undertaken  in  view  of 
an  imminent  performance,  most  likely  that  of  Prague  in  1798. 
It  was  published  by  Hoffmeister  und  Klihnel  and  dedicated  to 
Carl  Nikl  Edlen  von  Nikelsberg. 

That  the  Concerto  in  C  was  composed  later  than  that  in  B-flat 
has  been  proved  by  Beethoven's  testimony  as  well  as  other  external 
evidences  and  is  confirmed  by  the  few  remaining  sketches  analyzed 
by  Nottebohm.  They  appear  in  connection  with  a  sketch  for  the 
cadenza  for  the  B-flat  Concerto  which,  therefore,  must  have  been 
finished  when  its  companion  was  begun.  A  sketch  for  a  cadenza 
for  the  C  major  Concerto  comes  after  sketches  for  the  Sonata  in 
D,  Op.  10,  No.  3,  which  w^as  published  in  1798.  This  new  concerto 
must,  therefore,  have  been  finished.  According  to  the  testimony 
of  Tomaschek  he  played  it  in  1798  in  the  Konviktsaal  in  Prague. 


The  First  Two  Pl\xoforte  Coxxertos  2^23 

Schindler  says  he  played  it  for  the  first  time  "in  the  spring  of  ISOO 
in  the  Karnthnerthor-Theater,"  but  this  concert  is  likely  to  have 
been  that  of  April  2nd,  1800,  described  by  Hanslick  in  his  "Ge- 
schichte  des  Concertwesens  in  "NYien"  (p.  127).  Schindler  evidently 
knew  nothing  of  the  performance  in  Prague  and  a  confusion  must 
be  at  the  bottom  of  Czerny's  statement  that  the  Concerto  was 
played  in  the  Karnthnerthor-Theater  in  1801.  The  Concerto  in 
C,  dedicated  to  the  Countess  Odescalchi,  nee  Keglevich,  was  pub- 
lished by  Mollo  in  Vienna  in  1801.  There  are  three  cadenzas  for 
the  first  movement  of  the  Concerto,  the  last  two  of  whicJi  call  for 
an  extended  compass  of  the  pianoforte  and  are  thus  shown  to  be 
of  later  date  than  the  first. 

To  these  concertos  must  be  added  the  Rondo  in  B-flat  for 
Pianoforte  and  Orchestra  found  unfinished  among  Beethoven's 
compositions  and  published  by  Diabelli  and  Co.  in  1829.  Sonn- 
leithner,  on  the  authority  of  Diabelli,  says  it  was  com])leted  by 
Czerny,  who  also  filled  out  the  accompaniment.  There  is  no 
authentic  record  of  the  time  of  its  composition,  O.  Jahn  surmised 
that  it  may  have  been  designed  for  the  Concerto  in  B-flat.  Its 
contents  indicate  an  earlier  period.  A  sketch  ])rinte(l  by  Xotte- 
bohm  associated  with  a  Romanza  for  Pianoforte,  Flute  and  lias- 
soon,  judged  by  the  handwriting,  is  not  of  later  date  than  17!)5. 
E.  Mandyczewski  compared  the  original  manuscript,  now  in  the 
library  of  the  Gesellschaft  der  Musikfreunde,  witli  the  printed  form 
and  decided  that  the  work  was  completed  in  plan  and  vwtivi  l)y 
Beethoven,  who,  however,  did  not  carry  out  the  caden/as  aiid  only 
indicated  the  passages.  The  share  which  Czerny  had  in  it  is  thus 
indicated;  he  added  the  cadenzas  and  extended  the  i)iau()r(»rle 
passages  which  Beethoven  had  only  indicated,  making  them  more 
effective  and  brilliant.  The  use  of  the  high  registers  of  tlu-  ])iaiio- 
forte,  which  Czerny  employs  somewhat  too  freely  in  view  of  Ih.- 
simple  character  of  the  piece,  was  not  contemplal<'d  l)y  Beethoven, 
who  once  remarked  of  Czerny:  "He  uses  the  piccolo  too  much  for 
me."  In  Mandyczewski's  oplniim  the  handwriliiig  points  to  a 
time  before  1800,  and  the  contents  indicate  the  early  X'ieima  if  not 
the  Bonn  period.  Mandyczewski  also  thinks  that  the  roinanza- 
like  Andante  is  palpably  a  very  early  compositicm  and  that  the 
correspondence  in  key  and  measure  willi  the  B-flat  Coneerlo  nu-iil 
indicate  that  it  was  originally  designed  as  a  part  of  that  work,  a  snj)- 
position  which  is  strengthened  l)y  the  fact  that  tlie  ongnial  manu- 
script is  neither  dated  nor  signed.  This  internal  evidenee  has  nuieh 
in  its  favor,  the  more  since  it  is  not  at  all  obvious  what  might  hav<' 
prompted  Beethoven  to  writ(>  an  independent  rondo  for  cone.-rt 


2'2-i  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

use.  There  is  no  external  evidence;  if  there  were,  the  conception 
of  tJie  B-flat  Concerto  would  have  to  be  set  at  a  much  earlier 
date  than  has  yet  been  done.  The  first  Vienna  sketches  for  the 
Concerto,  as  Nottebohm  shows,  prove  that  the  present  three  move- 
ments belonged  together  from  the  beginning.  They  were,  there- 
fore, surely  played  at  the  first  performance  in  1795.  Nottebohm, 
who  repeated  Jahn's  surmise  in  his  "Thematisches  Verzeichniss," 
changed  his  mind  after  a  study  of  the  sketches  and  rejected  the 
notion  that  the  rondo  had  been  designed  for  the  Concerto.  Only 
by  assuming  an  earlier  date  for  the  rondo  can  the  theory  be  upheld. 
Attention  may  here  be  called  to  Wegeler's  statement  ("Notizen," 
p.  56)  that  the  rondo  of  the  first  Concerto  (he  says,  of  course,  the 
Concerto  in  C)  was  not  composed  until  the  second  afternoon  before 
the  performance.  There  may  possibly  have  been  another.  This 
is  not  necessarily  disproved  by  the  fact  that  sketches  for  the  present 
one  were  in  existence.  The  question  is  not  settled  by  the  evidence 
now  before  us,  but  the  probabilities  are  with  Mandyczewski. 

Now  begins  the  glorious  series  of  sonatas.  The  first  were  the 
three  (Op.  10)  which,  though  begun  in  part  at  an  earlier  date,  were 
definitively  finished  and  published  in  1798.  Eder,  the  publisher, 
opened  a  subscription  for  them  by  an  advertisement  in  the  "Wiener 
Zeitung,"  July  5th,  1798;  therefore  they  were  finished  at  that 
time.  The  sketching  for  them  had  begun  in  1796,  as  appears  from 
Nottebohm's  statement,^  and  Beethoven  worked  on  the  three 
simultaneously.  Sketches  for  the  first  movement  of  the  first  Sonata 
are  mixed  with  sketches  for  the  soprano  air  for  Umlauf's  "Schusterin" 
which  have  been  attributed  to  1796,  and  the  Variations  for  three 
AVind-Instruments  which  were  played  in  1797.  Sketches  for  the 
third  sonata  are  found  among  notes  for  the  Sextet  for  Wind-instru- 
ments (composed  about  1796)  and  also  for  the  Concerto  in  C  minor, 
which,  therefore,  was  begun  thus  early,  and  for  one  of  the  seven 
country  dances  which  appeared  in  1799,  or  perhaps  earlier.  The 
sketches  for  the  last  movement  of  No,  3  are  associated  alone  with 
sketches  for  a  cadenza  for  the  C  major  Concerto  which  Beethoven 
played  in  Prague  in  1798,  and  may  therefore  be  placed  in  this 
year.  It  follows  that  the  three  sonatas  were  developed  gradually 
in  1796-98,  and  completed  in  1798.  From  the  sketches  and  the 
accompanying  memoranda^  we  learn,  furthermore,  that  for  the  first 
Sonata,  which  now  has  three  movements,  a  fourth,  an  Intermezzo, 

'"Zweite  Beethoveniana,"  p.  29  et  seq. 

'Among  sketches  for  the  second  movement  of  the  Quintet,  Op.  16,  Beethoven 
wrote:  "For  the  new  sonatas  very  short  minuets.  The  Scherzo  remains  for  that  in 
C  minor."  And  in  another  sketch  he  writes:  "Intermezzo  for  the  sonata  in  C  minor." 
—Nottebohm,  "Zweite  Beethoveniana,"  32,  479. 


Composition  of  the  "Sonate  Pathetique"        225 

was  planned  on  which  Beethoven  several  times  made  a  beginning 
but  permitted  to  fall.  Two  of  these  movements  became  known 
afterwards  as  "Bagatelles."  ^Ve  learn  also  that  the  last  movement 
of  the  first  Sonata,  and  the  second  movement  of  the  second,  were 
originally  laid  out  on  a  larger  scale. 

The  "Sonate  pathetique,"  Op.  13,  was  published  by  Eder,  in 
Vienna,  in  1799,  and  afterwards  by  Hoffmeister,  who  announced 
them  on  December  18  of  the  same  year.  Sketches  for  tlie  rondo 
are  found  among  those  for  the  Trio,  Op.  9,  and  after  the  beginning 
of  a  fair  copy  of  the  Sonata,  Op.  49,  No.  1.  From  this  there  is  no 
larger  deduction  than  that  the  Sonata  pro])ably  had  its  origin 
about  1798.  One  of  the  sketches,  however,  indicates  that  tlie  last 
movement  was  originally  conceived  for  more  than  one  instrument, 
probably  for  a  sonata  for  pianoforte  and  violin.  Beethoven  pub- 
lished the  two  Sonatas,  Op.  14,  which  he  dedicated  to  the  Baroness 
Braun,  immediately  after  the  "Sonate  pathetique."  They  came 
from  the  press  of  Mollo  and  were  announced  on  Decemlier  21, 
1799.  The  exact  time  of  their  composition  cannot  be  determined 
definitely.  Up  to  the  present  time  no  sketches  for  tlie  second  are 
known  to  exist;  copious  ones  for  the  first,  however,  are  publislied 
by  Nottebohm  in  his  "Zweite  Beethoveniana"  (p.  45  et  scq.),  some 
of  which  appear  before  sketches  for  the  Sonata,  Op.  12,  No.  3,  then 
approaching  completion,  and  some  after  sketches  for  the  Concerto 
in  B-flat.  Because  of  this  juxtaposition,  Nottebohm  places  the 
conception  of  the  Sonata  in  1795. 

Touching  the  history  of  the  Trio,  Op.  11,  for  Pianoforte, 
Clarinet  and  Violoncello,  little  is  known.  It  was  advertised  as 
wholly  new  by  Mollo  and  Co.  on  October  3,  1798,  and  is  inscribccl 
to  the  Countess  Tlnm.  Sketches  associated  with  works  that  ;ire 
unknown  or  were  never  completed  are  in  tJie  15rilish  INluseuin  ami 
set  forth  by  Nottebohm  in  his  "Zweite  lieethoveniaiia"  (|). 
515).  The  sketch  for  the  Adagio  reseinbU'S  the  begiiuiiiig  of  the 
minuet  in  the  Sonata,  Op.  4!),  No.  2,  and  is  changed  later;  this 
points  a])pro\iinately  to  179S.  The  last  movement  consists  of  a 
series  of  variations  on  tlu;  theme  of  a  trio  from  \N  eigl's  opera 
"L'Amor  marinaro,"  beginning  "l*ria  ch'io  I'inipegno."  AVeigKs 
opera  was  |)erformed  for  tin;  first,  time  on  October  l.">.  1797. 
Czerny  told  Otto  Jahn  tliat  lieethoven  took  tlie  tli<iiie  at  ilw  re- 
quest of  a  clarinet  jjlaycr  (Beer?)  for  whom  Ik*  wrote  llie  'I  no. 
The  elder  Artaria  told  Cipriani  J\)tter  in  1797,  tliat  he  liad  given 
the  theme  to  Beethoven  and  recpiested  him  to  introdnee  variations 
on  it  into  a  trio,  and  added  tliat  Heetjioven  did  not  know  that  tli<' 
melody  was  Weigl's  until  after  the  Trio  was  finished,  whereui)on 


226  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

he  ?rew  very  angry  on  finding  it  out.     Czerny  says  in  the  supple- 
ment to  his  "Pianoforte  School": 

It  was  at  the  wish  of  the  clarinet  player  for  whom  Beethoven 
wrote  this  Trio  that  he  employed  the  above  theme  by  Weigl  (which  was 
then  very  popular)  as  the  finale.  At  a  later  period  he  frequently  con- 
templated writing  another  concluding  movement  for  this  Trio,  and  letting 
the  variations  stand  as  a  separate  work. 

If  Czerny  is  correct  in  his  statement,  obvious  deductions  from 
it  are  these,  which  are  scarcely  consistent  with  Artaria's  story:  if 
the  theme  was  "very  popular"  at  the  time  the  opera  must  have 
had  several  performances,  and  it  is  not  likely  that  the  melody  was 
unfamiliar  to  Beethoven,  who  also,  it  may  be  assumed,  wrote  the 
title  of  AYeigl's  trio,  which  is  printed  at  the  beginning  of  the  last 
movement  of  Beethoven's  composition.  Beethoven  produced  the 
Trio  for  the  first  time  at  the  house  of  Count  Fries  on  the  occasion 
of  his  first  meeting  with  Steibelt.  The  three  Sonatas  for  Pianoforte 
and  Violin,  Op.  12,  were  advertised  in  the  "Wiener  Zeitung"  of 
January  12,  1799,  as  published  by  Artaria,  which  would  seem  to 
place  their  origin  in  1798.  The  program  of  a  concert  given  by 
Madame  Duschek  on  March  29,  1798,  preserved  in  the  archives  of 
the  Gesellschaft  der  Musikfreunde,  announces  a  sonata  with  accom- 
paniment to  be  played  by  Beethoven.  The  accompanying  {obbli- 
gato)  instrument  is  not  mentioned,  but  the  work  may  well  have 
been  one  of  these  Sonatas.  Nottebohm  discusses  the  juxtaposition 
of  sketches  for  the  second  Sonata  with  sketches  for  the  Pianoforte 
Concerto  in  B-flat  and  the  sonata  in  E,  Op.  14,  No.  1,  and  is  in- 
clined to  fix  1795  as  the  year  of  the  sonata's  origin.  But  we  are  in 
the  dark  as  to  whether  the  sketches  for  the  Pianoforte  Concerto 
were  for  its  original  or  its  revised  form. 

Among  the  instrumental  compositions  of  this  year  belong 
the  Variations  for  Pianoforte  and  Violoncello  on  "Ein  Madchen 
oder  AVeibchen"  from  Mozart's  "Zauberflote,"  of  which  nothing 
more  is  known  than  that  Traeg  announced  their  publication  on 
September  12,  1798.  They  were  afterward  taken  over  by  Artaria. 
The  Variation  for  Pianoforte  on  a  theme  from  Gretry's  "Richard, 
Cceur  de  Lion"  ("Une  fievre  brulante")  were  announced  as  newly 
published  on  November  7,  1798,  by  Traeg;  Cappi  and  Diabelli 
acquired  them  later.  Sketches  for  them  are  found  by  the  side 
of  sketches  for  the  first  movement  of  the  Sonata  in  C  minor, 
Op.  10,  No.  1,  which  circumstance  indicates  that  1796  was 
the  year  of  their  origin.  According  to  Sonnleithner,  "Richard, 
Coeur  de  Lion"  was  first  performed  at  the  Hof theater,  Vienna,  on 


The  Period  of  the  First  Sy^iphoxy  227 

January  7,  1788;  then  again  on  June  13,  1799  in  the  Theater  auf 
den  ^Yieden;  but  a  ballet,  "Richard  Lowenherz,"  by  Vigano,  music 
by  Weigl,  in  which  Gretry's  romance,  "Une  fievre  brulante,"  was 
interpolated,  was  brought  forward  on  July  2, 1795,  in  the  Hof-  und 
Nationaltheater  and  repeated  often  in  that  year,  and  it  was  thence, 
no  doubt,  that  the  suggestion  for  the  variations  came  to  Beet- 
hoven. The  six  little  Variations  on  a  Swiss  air  were  published, 
according  to  Nottebohm,  by  Simrock  in  Bonn  in  1798.  The  ten 
Variations  on  "La  stessa,  la  stessissima"  from  Salieri's  "Falstaff, 
ossia  le  tre  Burle,"  were  announced  as  just  published  in  the 
"Wiener  Zeitung"  of  March  2, 1799.  Salieri's  opera  was  performed 
on  January  3  (^Ylassak  says  January  6),  1799,  in  the  Hoftheater; 
Beethoven's,  therefore,  was  an  occasional  composition  conceived 
and  produced  in  a  very  short  time.  Sketches  are  found  among 
some  for  the  first  Quartet,  Op.  18,  and  others.  The  Variations 
are  dedicated  to  the  Countess  Babette  Keglevich.  Twice  more  in 
the  same  year  operatic  productions  induced  similar  works.  The 
publication  of  the  Variations  on  "Kind,  willst  du  ruhig  schlafon?" 
from  Winter's  "Unterbrochenes  Opferfest,"  was  announced  in  the 
"Wiener  Zeitung"  of  December  21,  1799,  by  Mollo  and  Co.;  the 
opera  had  its  first  performance  in  Vienna  on  June  15,  1790,  and  was 
repeated  frequently  within  the  years  immediately  following — six 
times  in  1799.  In  this  case  also  it  may  be  assumed  that  publica- 
tion followed  hard  on  the  heels  of  composition.  Sketches  are  found 
in  companionship  with  others  belonging  to  the  Quartet,  Op.  IH,  No. 
5,  and  the  Septet.  The  Variations  on  "Tiindeln  und  Scherzen/'frorn 
Sussmayr's  opera  "Soliman  II,  oder  diedrei  Sultaninnen,"  belong 
to  the  same  time.  The  opera  was  performed  on  October  1,  179!), 
in  the  Hoftheater;  the  publication  of  the  variations  by  Ilofrineister 
was  announced  in  the  "Wiener  Zeitung"  on  December  IS,  1  ?!):>. 
They  may  have  been  printed  previously  by  Eder.  They  were  drdi- 
cated  to  Countess  Browne,  nee  von  Bietingholf.  It  is  intcn-stiiig 
to  learn  from  Czerny  that  these  Variations  were  the  first  of  Beet- 
hoven's compositions  which  the  master  gave  him  to  study  when 
he  became  his  pupil.  Before  them  h<'  had  pieces  by  C.  1*.  E,  Bacli 
and  after  them  the  "Sonate  i)at]ieti(iue." 

As  evidence  pointing  to  the  period  in  which  the  first  Symphony 
was  written  we  have,  first  of  all,  the  report  of  the  first  j)erforjnance 
on  April  2,  1800;  but  inasmuch  as  the  copying  of  the  i)arts  and  the 
rehearsals  must  have  consumed  a  considerable  time,  the  period 
would  be  much  too  short  (especially  in  view  of  Beethoven's  nn-f  hod 
of  working)  if  we  were  also  to  assuni<*  that  the  Symphony  originated 
in  1800.     It  is  verv  likelv  that,  with  the  Quartets,  it  was  sketched 


'■2'IS  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

at  an  earlier  period  and  worked  out  in  the  main  by  1799  at  the 
hitest.  It  was  published  toward  the  end  of  1801  by  HoflFmeister 
and  Kiihnel  as  Op.  21,  dedicated  to  Baron  van  Swieten  and  adver- 
tised in  the  "Wiener  Zeitung"  of  January  16,  1802.  Beethoven 
had  already  planned  a  symphony  while  studying  with  Albrechts- 
berger.  Nottebohm  reports  on  his  purposes  after  a  study  of  some 
sketches  and  from  him  we  learn  that  the  theme  of  the  present  last 
movement  was  originally  intended  for  a  first  movement.  Beet- 
hoven must  have  worked  on  this  composition  in  1794-'95,  perhaps 
at  the  suggestion  of  van  Swieten — a  conclusion  suggested  by  the 
fact  that  the  dedication  of  the  first  symphony  went  to  him.  Beet- 
hoven abandoned  this  early  plan  and  turned  to  other  ideas  for  the 
new  symphony,  but  there  is  no  clue  as  to  the  precise  time  when 
this  was  done.  In  1802,  Mollo  published  an  arrangement  of  the 
symphony  as  a  quintet  at  the  same  time  that  Hoffmeister  and 
Kiihnel  published  a  like  arrangement  of  the  Septet.  Beethoven 
published  the  following  protest  in  the  "Wiener  Zeitung"  of  October 
20,1802: 

I  believe  that  I  owe  it  to  the  public  and  myself  publicly  to  an- 
nounce that  the  two  Quintets  in  C  major  and  E-flat  major,  of  which 
the  first  (taken  from  a  symphony  of  mine)  has  been  published  by  Mr. 
Mollo  in  Vienna,  and  the  second  (taken  from  my  familiar  Septet,  Op.  20) 
by  Mr.  Hoffmeister  in  Leipzig,  are  not  original  quintets  but  transcrip- 
tions prepared  by  the  publishers.  The  making  of  transcriptions  at  the 
best  is  a  matter  against  which  (in  this  prolific  day  of  such  things)  an 
author  must  protest  in  vain;  but  it  is  possible  at  least  to  demand  of  the 
publishers  that  they  indicate  the  fact  on  the  title-page,  so  that  the 
honor  of  the  author  may  not  be  lessened  and  the  public  be  not  de- 
ceived. This  much  to  hinder  such  things  in  the  future.  At  the  same 
time  I  announce  that  a  new  Quintet  of  mine  in  C  major.  Op.  29,  will 
shortly  be  published  by  Breitkopf  and  Hartel  in  Leipzig. 

Mention  may  here  be  made  in  conclusion  of  the  two  French 
songs,  "Que  le  temps  (jour)  me  dure"  (Rousseau)  and  "Plaisir 
d'aimer,"  recovered  from  sketches  and  described  by  Jean  Chanta- 
voine  in  "Die  Musik"  (Vol.  I,  No.  12,  1902).  The  origin  of  the 
latter  is  fixed  in  1799,  by  its  association  with  a  sketch  for  the 
Quartets,  Op.  18. 


Chapter  XVI 

Beethoven's  Social  Life  in  Vienna — His  Friends:  Vogl, 
Kiesewetter,  Zmeskall,  Amenda,  Count  Lichnowsky,  Ep- 
pinger,  Krumpholz — Schuppanzigh  and  His  Quartet — 
Hummel — Friendships  with  Women — His  Dedications. 

THE  chronological  progress  of  the  narrative  must  again  be 
interrupted  for  a  chapter  or  two,  since  no  picture  of  a  man's 
life  can  be  complete  without  the  lights  or  shades  arising 
from  his  social  relations — without  some  degree  of  knowledge 
respecting  those  with  whom  he  is  on  terms  of  equality  and  intimacy 
and  whose  company  he  most  affects.  The  attempt  to  draw  such 
a  picture  in  the  case  of  Beethoven,  that  is,  during  his  first  years  in 
Vienna,  leaves  much  to  be  desired,  for,  altliough  the  searcli  for 
materials  has  not  been  very  unsuccessful,  many  of  the  data  are 
but  vague  and  scattered  notices.  In  a  Conversation  Book,  bearing 
Beethoven's  own  date  "on  the  20th  of  March,  18"20,"  some  person 
unknown  writes: 

Do  you  want  to  know  where  I  first  had  the  honor  and  pood  fortune 
to  see  you?  More  than  25  years  apo  I  HvihI  with  Fniiik  of  lVat,Mio  in 
the  Drachenf^assel  in  the  old  Fish  Market.  Several  n<»l)l«'iii<-ii,  for 
instance  His  Excellency  van  li.  Oistcn  (?j,  Heinerle,  Vo^'l  (n<»\v  a  sinp«'r). 
Kosswetter,  basso,  now  Court  Councillor,  Greycnstein  {?),  has  long  been 
living  in  France,  etc.     There  we  often 

musicicised,  etc. 
sui)[)<Tiz<Ml,  etc. 
punciii/.ed,  etc. 

and  at  the  conclusion  Your  Kxcdlcncy  often  rejoiced  us  at  mi/  l\  F. 
I  was  then  Court  (Councillor  in  the  War  Office  {?).  I  h.'ive  pnulifUMl 
since  then  at  least  1.'5  thousand  metiers — Did  we  meet  in  l*nigue?  In 
what  year? — 1796 — 3  days — 1  was  in  Prague  also  in  MUO-l-'i. 

There  is  notliiiig  in  the  portions  of  this  Conversation  Hook. 
copied  for  tliis  work,  tosliow  who  this  man  of  "1. 3  thonsan<l  nn'tiers" 
was,  now  sitting  with  Beetlioven  in  an  cating-liouse,  and  recalling 

[  ii9  I 


^30  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

to  liis  memory  the  frolics  of  his  first  year  and  a  quarter  in  Vienna; 
nor  are  Heinerle,  Cristen,  Greyenstein  and  Frank  of  Prague  suffi- 
ciently known  to  fame  as  to  be  now  identified ;  but  Johann  Michael 
Vogl,  less  than  two  years  older  than  Beethoven,  was  afterward 
a  very  celebrated  tenor  of  the  opera.  In  1793-4  he  was  still  pursuing 
the  study  of  jurisprudence,  which  he  abandoned  in  1795  for  the 
stage.  May  not  this  early  friendship  for  Beethoven  have  been 
among  the  causes  of  the  resuscitation  of  "Fidelio"  in  1814,  for  the 
benefit  performance  of  Vogl,  Saal  and  Weinmuller.'* 

There  is  a  story,  first  put  in  circulation  by  a  certain  August 
Barth,  to  the  effect  that  the  singer  of  that  name  once  finding 
Beethoven  employed  in  burning  a  mass  of  musical  and  other  papers, 
sang  one  vocal  piece  thus  destined  to  destruction,  was  pleased  with 
it,  and  saved  the  immortal  "Adelaide!"  The  story  is  suflBciently 
refuted  by  the  fact  that  when  Barth  first  came  to  Vienna,  in  1807, 
the  "Adelaide"  had  been  in  print  some  ten  years.  If  the  name  Vogl 
be  substituted  in  the  tale,  there  may,  perhaps,  be  so  much  truth 
in  it  as  this:  that  he  w^as  consulted  upon  the  merits  of  the  compo- 
sition by  Beethoven,  approved  it,  and  first  sang  it  and  made  it 
known — as  he  was  the  first,  years  afterwards,  to  sing  in  public  the 
"Erlkonig"  and  other  fine  productions  of  Franz  Schubert.  The 
"Kosswetter,  basso,"  w^as  Raphael  George  Kiesewetter,  who  lived 
to  be  renowned  as  a  writer  upon  topics  of  musical  history,  and  to 
play  a  part  in  the  revival  of  ancient  music  in  Vienna,  not  less  note- 
wortliy  than  that  of  Thibaut  in  Heidelberg.  At  the  period  of  the 
"music-making,  supping  and  punch  drinking"  by  the  "noblemen" 
in  the  apartments  of  Frank  of  Prague,  Kiesewetter  was  a  young 
man  of  twenty,  engaged,  like  Vogl,  in  the  study  of  the  law.  In 
the  spring  of  1794 — and  thus  the  date  of  these  meetings  is  deter- 
mined— he  received  an  appointment  in  the  military  chancellary, 
and  went  at  once  to  the  headquarters  at  Schwetzingen  on  the  Rhine. 
More  important  and  valuable  during  these  years,  as  subsequently, 
was  the  warm,  sincere  friendship  of  Nicolaus  Zmeskall  von  Doma- 
novecz,  an  official  in  the  Royal  Hungarian  Court  Chancellary.  "You 
belong  to  my  earliest  friends  in  Vienna,"  writes  Beethoven  in  1816. 
Zmeskall,  to  quote  the  words  of  Sonnleithner, 

was  an  expert  violoncellist,  a  sound  and  tasteful  composer.  Too  modest 
to  publish  his  compositions,  he  willed  them  to  the  archives  of  the  Gesell- 
schaft  der  Musikfreunde.  After  personal  examination  I  can  only  give 
assurance  that  his  three  string  quartets  would  entitle  him  to  an  honor- 
able place  among  masters  of  the  second  rank,  and  are  more  deserving  to 
be  heard  than  many  new  things  which,  for  all  manner  of  reasons,  we  are 
compelled  to  hear. 


Beethoven's  Regard  for  Zmesk_a.ll  231 

That  Zmeskall  was  a  very  constant  attendant  at  the  musical 
parties  of  Prince  Carl  Lichnowsky  and  frequently  took  part  in 
them,  may  be  seen  from  Wegeler's  record.  He  was  ten  years  older 
than  Beethoven,  had  been  long  enough  in  Vienna  to  know  the  best 
society  there,  into  which  he  was  admitted  not  more  because  of  his 
musical  attainments  than  because  of  the  respectability  of  his  posi- 
tion and  character;  and  was,  therefore,  what  the  young  student- 
pianist  needed  most,  a  friend,  who  at  the  same  time  could  l)e  to  a 
certain  degree  an  authoritative  adviser,  and  at  all  times  was  a  judi- 
cious one.  On  the  part  of  Zmeskall  there  was  an  instant  and  hearty 
appreciation  of  the  extraordinary  powers  of  the  young  stranger 
from  the  Rhine  and  a  clear  anticipation  of  his  splendid  artistic 
future.  A  singular  proof  of  this  is  the  care  with  whicli  lie  preserved 
the  most  insignificant  scraps  of  paper,  if  Beethoven  had  written 
a  few  words  upon  them;  for,  certainly,  no  other  motive  could  liave 
induced  him  to  save  many  notes  of  this  kind  and  of  no  im])ortance 
ten,  fifteen,  twenty  years,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  published  letters 
of  the  composer.  On  the  part  of  Beethoven,  there  was  sincere 
respect  for  the  dignity  and  gravity  of  Zmeskall's  character,  which 
usually  restrained  him  within  proper  limits  in  their  personal  inter- 
course; but  he  delighted,  especially  in  the  earlier  period,  to  give, 
in  his  notes  and  letters,  full  play  to  his  queer  fancies  and  some- 
times extravagant  humour. 

Here  are  a  few  examples  in  point: 

To  His  Well  Well  Hif,'hest  and  Bestborn.  the  Herr  von  Zmeskall, 
Imperial  and  Royal  as  also  Royal  and  Imperial  Court  Secretary: 

Will  His  High  and  Wellborn,  His  Hcrrn  von  Zmeskall's  Zmeskallity 
have  the  kindness  to  say  where  we  can  speak  to  him  to-morrow.' 

We  are  your  most  damnably 
devoted 

Beethoven. 

My  dearest  Baron  Muckcartdrivcr. 
Je  vous  suis  Men  oblige  pour  voire  faiblesse  de  vos  yeux.  Moreover 
I  forbid  vou  henceforth  to  rob  mr.  of  tin?  j,'o()d  humor  into  which  I  occa- 
sionallv  "fall,  for  yesterday  your  Zmeskall-damanovil/.ian  cliallcr  made 
me  meianclioly.  Tlie  devil  take  you;  I  want  none  of  your  moral  (pre- 
cepts) for  Power  is  the  morality  of  men  who  loom  above  the  others 
and  it  is  also  mine;  and  if  you  be^'in  a^ain  to-day  I'll  torment  you  till 
vou  agree  that  evervthiiiK  tliat  I  do  is  good  and  praiseworl  liy  (for  I  am 
g<.ing  to  the  Swan— the  Ox  would  be  preferable,  yet  this  rests  with  your 
Zmeskallian  I )omanovezian  decision  (rr.v/wn.vp). 

Adieu  Baron  Ba.   .   .   .ron.  r  o  n  /  n  o  r  /  o  r  n  /  r  n  o  /  o  n  r  / 
{vuild  quclqiie  cHokc  from  the  ohl  pawnshop.) 

Mechanical  skill  was  never  so  developed   in   Beethoven   that 
he  could  make  good  pens  from  goose  quills— and  the  days  of  other 


25i  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

pons  were  not  yet.  When,  therefore,  he  had  no  one  with  him  to 
aid  liini  in  tliis,  he  usually  sent  to  Zmeskall  for  a  supply.  Of 
the  large  number  of  such  applications  preserved  by  his  friend 
and  now  scattered  in  all  civilized  lands  as  autographs,  here  are 
two  specimens. 

Best  of  Music  Counts!  I  beg  of  you  to  send  me  one  or  a  few  pens 
of  which  I  am  really  in  great  need.  As  soon  as  I  learn  where  real  good, 
and  admirable  pens  are  to  be  found  I  will  buy  some  of  them.  I  hope  to 
see  you  at  the  Swan  today. 

Adieu,  most  precious 

Music  Count 

yours  etc. 

His  Highness  von  Z.  is  commanded  to  hasten  a  bit  with  the  plucking 

out  of  a  few  of  his  quills  (among  them,  no  doubt,  some  not  his  own).    It 

is  hoped  that  they  may  not  be  too  tightly  grown.     As  soon  as  you  have 

done  all  that  we  shall  ask  we  shall  be,  with  excellent  esteem  your 

F 

Beethoven. 

Had  Zmeskall  not  carefully  treasured  these  notes,  they  would 
never  have  met  any  eye  but  his  own;  it  is  evident,  therefore,  that 
he  entered  fully  into  their  humor,  and  that  it  was  the  same  to 
him,  whether  he  found  himself  addressed  as  "Baron,"  "Count," 
"Cheapest  Baron,"  "Music  Count,"  "Baron  Muckcartdriver," 
"His  Zmeskallian  Zmeskallity,"  or  simply  "Dear  Z." — which  last 
is  the  more  usual.  He  knew  his  man,  and  loved  him;  and  these 
"quips  and  quiddities"  were  received  in  the  spirit  which  begat 
tliem.  The  whole  tenor  of  the  correspondence  between  the  two 
shows  that  Zmeskall  had  more  influence  for  good  upon  Beethoven 
than  any  other  of  his  friends;  he  could  reprove  him  for  faults, 
and  check  him  when  in  the  wrong,  without  producing  a  quarrel 
more  serious  than  the  one  indicated  in  the  protest,  above  given, 
against  interrupting  his  "good  humor." 

As  a  musician,  as  well  as  man  and  friend,  Zmeskall  stood  high 
in  Beethoven's  esteem.  His  apartments.  No.  1166,  in  that  huge 
conglomeration  of  buildings  known  as  the  Burgerspital,  were  for 
a  long  series  of  years  the  scene  of  a  private  morning  concert,  to 
which  only  the  first  performers  of  chamber  music  and  a  very 
few  guests  were  admitted.  Here,  after  the  rupture  with  Prince 
Lichnowsky,  Beethoven's  productions  of  this  class  were  usually 
first  tried  over.  Not  until  Beethoven's  death  did  their  correspon- 
dence cease. 

Another  young  man  who  gained  an  extraordinary  place  in 
Beethoven's  esteem  and  affection,  and  who  departed  from  Vienna 


Esteem  axd  Affection  for  Amexda  233 

before  anything  occurred  to  cause  a  breach  between  them,  was 
a  certain  Karl  Amenda,  from  the  shore  of  the  Baltic,  who  died  some 
forty  years  later  as  Provost  in  Courland.  He  was  a  good  violinist, 
belonged  to  thecircle  of  dilettanti  which  Beethoven  so  mucli  affected, 
and,  on  parting,  received  from  the  composer  one  of  his  first  attempts 
at  quartet  composition.  His  name  most  naturally  suggests  itself 
to  fill  the  blank  in  a  letter  to  Ries,  July,  1804,  wherein  some  living 
person,  not  named,  is  mentioned  as  one  with  whom  lie  (Beet- 
hoven) "never  had  a  misunderstanding,"  but  he  adds  "although 
we  have  known  nothing  of  each  other  for  nearly  six  years,"  which 
was  not  true  of  Amenda,  since  letters  passed  between  them  in 
1801.  The  small  portion  of  tlieir  written  correspondence  which 
has  been  made  public  shows  that  their  friendship  was  of  tlie  ro- 
mantic character  once  so  much  the  fashion;  and  a  letter  of  Amenda 
is  filled  with  incense  w^hich  in  our  day  would  bear  the  name  of 
almost  too  gross  flattery.  But  times  change  and  tastes  with  them. 
His  name  appears  once  in  the  Zmeskall  correspondence,  namely,  in 
a  mutilated  note  now  in  the  Royal  Imperial  Court  Library,  begin- 
ning "My  cheapest  Baron !  Tell  the  guitarist  to  come  to  me  to-day. 
Amenda  is  to  make  an  Amende  (part  torn  away)  whicli  lie  deserves 
for  his  bad  pauses  (torn)  provide  the  guitarist." 

Karl  Amenda  was  born  on  October  4,  1771,  at  Lippaikcn  in 
Courland.  He  studied  music  with  his  father  and  Chapelmaster 
Beichtmer,  was  so  good  a  violinist  that  he  was  able  to  give  a  con- 
cert at  14  years  of  age,  and  continued  jiis  musical  studies  after  lie 
was  matriculated  as  a  student  of  tlieology  at  the  University  of 
Jena.  After  a  three  years'  course  there  he  set  out  on  a  tour,  aiul 
reached  Vienna  in  the  spring  of  1798.  There  he  first  became  ])re- 
centor  for  Prince  Lobkowitz  and  afterward  niusic-teaclier  in  tlie 
family  of  Mozart's  widow.  How,  thereupon,  lie  became  acquainte<l 
with  Beethoven  we  are  able  to  report  from  a  document  still  in 
the  possession  of  the  family,  wliicJi  bears  the  snpersfriplion  "Mrief 
Account  of  the  Friendly  llelafions  between  L.  v.  Beethoven  and 
Karl  Friedrieh  Amenda,  afterward  JVovost  at  Talsen  in  Courland, 
written  down  from  oral  tradition": 

After  tlio  romplotlon  of  his  theolo^^'ical  stndies  K.  V.  AimcikI.i  p>es  to 
Vienna,  wlicre  he  several  times  meets  lieel ji<)\etj  at  llie  talile  (Tliotc, 
attempts  to  enter  into  conversation  with  him.  hut  without  suercss,  .simx; 
Beeth.  remains  very  rhrrri'.  After  some  time  Am<-ri(la.  who  mean- 
while had  heeomo  nmsie-tcacher  at  \\w.  Iiomk^  of  .Mf)/,art's  widow,  n-(<'iv<-H 
an  invitation  from  a  frieri<lly  family  and  there  i)lay.s  first  violin  in  a 
quartet.  While  ho  was  playing  somebody  turned  the  pa^'es  for  him. 
and  when  lu-  turned  al)oiit  at  the  finish  he  was  fri^'hten<-t|  to  sim*  Heet- 
hoven,  who  had  taken  the  trouhle  to  do  this  and  now  withdrew  with  a 


234  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

bow.  The  next  day  the  extremely  amiable  host  at  the  evening  party 
appeared  and  cried  out:  "What  have  you  done?  You  have  captured 
Beethoven's  heart!  B.  requests  that  you  rejoice  him  with  your  company." 
A.,  much  pleased,  hurries  to  B.,  who  at  once  asks  him  to  play  with  him. 
This  is  done  and  when,  after  several  hours,  A.  takes  his  leave,  B.  accompan- 
ies him  to  his  quarters,  where  there  was  music  again.  As  B.  jBnally  pre- 
pared to  go  he  said  to  A.:  "I  suppose  you  can  accompany  me."  This 
is  done,  and  B.  kept  A.  till  evening  and  went  with  him  to  his  home  late 
at  night.  From  that  time  the  mutual  visits  became  more  and  more 
numerous  and  the  two  took  walks  together,  so  that  the  people  in  the 
streets  when  they  saw  only  one  of  them  in  the  street  at  once  called  out: 
"Where  is  the  other  one?"  A.  also  introduced  Mylich,  with  whom  he 
had  come  to  Vienna,  to  B.,  and  Mylich  often  played  trios  with  B.  and  A. 
His  instrument  was  the  second  viohn  or  viola.  Once  when  B.  heard 
that  Mylich  had  a  sister  in  Courland  who  played  the  pianoforte  prettily, 
he  handed  him  a  sonata  in  manuscript  with  the  inscription:  "To  the 
sister  of  my  good  friend  Mylich."  The  manuscript  was  rolled  up  and 
tied  with  a  little  silk  ribbon.  B.  complained  that  he  could  not  get  along 
on  the  violin.  Asked  by  A.  to  try  it,  nevertheless,  he  played  so  fearfully 
that  A.  had  to  call  out:  "Have  mercy— quit!"  B.  quit  playing  and 
the  two  laughed  till  they  had  to  hold  their  sides.  One  evening  B.  ini- 
provised  marvellously  on  the  pianoforte  and  at  the  close  A.  said:  "It  is 
a  great  pity  that  such  glorious  music  is  born  and  lost  in  a  moment." 
W^hereupon  B.:  "There  you  are  mistaken;  I  can  repeat  every  extempo- 
rization"; whereupon  he  sat  himself  down  and  played  it  again  without 
a  change.  B.  was  frequently  embarrassed  for  money.  Once  he  com- 
plained to  A.;  he  had  to  pay  rent  and  had  no  idea  how  he  could  do  it. 
"That's  easily  remedied,"  said  A.  and  gave  him  a  theme  ("FreudvoU 
und  Leidvoll")  and  locked  him  in  his  room  with  the  remark  that  he  must 
make  a  beginning  on  the  variations  within  three  hours.  When  A.  returns 
he  finds  B.  on  the  spot  but  ill-tempered.  To  the  question  whether  or 
not  he  had  begun  B.  handed  over  a  paper  with  the  remark:  "There's 
your  stuff!"  (Da  ist  der  Wisch!)  A.  takes  the  notes  joyfully  to  B.'s 
landlord  and  tells  him  to  take  it  to  a  publisher,  who  would  pay  him  hand- 
somely for  it.  The  landlord  hesitated  at  first  but  finally  decided  to  do 
the  errand  and,  returning  joyfully,  asks  if  other  bits  of  paper  like  that 
were  to  be  had.  But  in  order  definitely  to  relieve  such  financial  needs 
A.  advised  B.  to  make  a  trip  to  Italy.  B.  says  he  is  willing  but  only  on 
condition  that  A.  go  with  him.  A.  agrees  gladly  and  the  trip  is  practically 
planned.  Unfortunately  news  of  a  death  calls  A.  back  to  his  home.  His 
brother  has  been  killed  in  an  accident  and  the  duty  of  caring  for  the 
family  devolves  on  him.  With  doubly  oppressed  heart  A.  takes  leave 
of  B.  to  return  to  his  home  in  Courland.  There  he  receives  a  letter 
from  B.  saying:  "Since  you  cannot  go  along,  I  shall  not  go  to  Italy." 
Later  the  friends  frequently  exchanged  thoughts  by  correspondence.^ 

^Amenda  returned  to  his  home  in  Courland  in  the  fall  of  1799.  The  friends 
corresponded  with  each  other  for  a  time,  but  the  majority  of  Beethoven's  letters  are 
lost.  While  a  student  at  the  University  in  Leipzig,  Amenda's  grandson  placed  some 
of  them  in  the  hands  of  a  publisher  at  his  request  and  did  not  get  them  back.  Amenda 
was  first  a  private  teacher,  became  a  preacher  in  Talsen  in  1802,  provost  of  the  diocese 
of  Kadau  in  1820,  consistorial  councillor  in  1830  and  died  on  March  8,  1836.  A  por- 
trait painted  in  1808,  is  preserved  in  the  Beethoven  Museum  in  Bonn. 


Friendship  with  Count  Lichnowsky  235 

Though,  as  we  have  learned,  it  was  music  which  brought 
Beethoven  into  contact  with  Amenda,  it  was  the  hatter's  amiability 
and  nobility  of  character  that  endeared  him  to  the  composer,  who 
cherished  him  as  one  of  his  dearest  friends  and  confided  things  to 
him  which  he  concealed  from  his  other  intimates — his  deafness, 
for  instance.  A  striking  proof  of  Beethoven's  affection  is  offered 
by  the  fact  that  he  gave  Amenda  a  copy  of  his  Quartet  in  F  (Op.  18, 
No.  1),  writing  on  the  first  violin  part: 

Dear  Amenda:  Take  this  quartet  as  a  small  memorial  of  our 
friendship,  and  whenever  you  play  it  recall  the  days  which  we  passed 
together  and  the  sincere  affection  felt  for  you  then  and  which  will  always 
be  felt  by 

Your  true  and  warm  friend 

Ludwig  van  Beethoven. 
Vienna,  1799,  June  25. 

In  a  letter  written  nearly  a  year  later  Beethoven  asks  his 
friend  not  to  lend  the  quartet,  as  he  had  revised  it.  A  letter 
written,  evidently,  about  the  time  of  Amenda's  departure  from 
Vienna  indicated  that  Beethoven  was  oppressed  at  this  period  with 
another  grief  than  that  caused  by  the  loss  of  his  friend's  compan- 
ionship. Beethoven  speaks  of  his  "already  lacerated  heart,"  says 
that  *'the  worst  of  the  storm  is  over"  and  mentions  an  invitation 
to  Poland — which  he  had  accepted.  Nothing  came  of  this  Polish 
enterprise.  Dr.  A.  C.  Kalischer  suspected  that  the  lacerated 
heart  was  due  to  the  composer's  unrequited  love  for  Magdalena 
Willmann,  a  singer  then  in  Vienna  to  whom  he  made  a  proposal 
of  marriage  which  was  never  answered. 

Count  Moritz  Lichnowsky,  brother  of  Prince  Carl,  of  wlumi 
we  shall  not  lose  sight  entirely  until  the  closing  scene,  was 
another  of  the  friends  of  those  years.  He  had  been  a  pupil  of 
Mozart,  played  the  pianoforte  with  much  skill  and  was  an  influen- 
tial member  of  the  party  which  (h'fended  the  novelty  and  felt  the 
grandeur  of  his  friend's  comi)Ositions.  ScliiudlcT  saw  much  of  him 
during  Beethoven's  last  years,  and  eulogizes  the  "noble  Coiinr' 
in  very  strong  terms. 

Another  of  that  circle  of  young  (lileltanii,  and  one  of  IJie  lirst 

players  of  Beethoven's  compositions,  was  a  young  Jewish  violitj- 
ist,  Ileinrich  Eppinger.  lie  played  at  a  charity  <-oncert  in  \ienna, 
making  his  first  appearance  there  in  17S<).  "He  l.rcaine.  ni  aftrr 
years,"  says  a  correspondent  of  the  time,  "a  dilettante  of  th.-  most 
excellent  reputation,  lived  modestly  on  a  small  fortune  an(l  de- 
voted himself  entirely  to  music."  At  the  period  before  us  Kppingep 
was  one  of  Beethoven's  first  violins  at  the  private  concerts  of  the 


2i)(>  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

nobility.  Hiiring,  who  became  a  distinguished  merchant  and 
banker,  belonged  now  to  this  circle  of  young  amateur  musicians, 
and  in  1795  had  the  reputation  of  being  at  the  head  of  the  amateur 
violinists.  The  youthful  friendship  between  him  and  the  com- 
poser was  not  interrupted  as  they  advanced  into  life,  and  twenty 
years  later  was  of  great  advantage  to  Beethoven. 

But  a  more  interesting  person  for  us  is  the  instructor  under 
whom  Beethoven  in  Vienna  resumed  his  study  of  the  violin  (a 
fact  happily  preserved  by  Ries) — Wenzel  Krumpholz.  He  was  a 
brother  of  the  very  celebrated  Bohemian  harp  player  who  drowned 
himself  in  the  Seine  in  1790.  In  his  youth  Krumpholz  had  been 
for  a  period  of  three  years  a  pupil  of  Haydn  at  Esterhaz  and  had 
played  first  violin  in  the  orchestra  there.  He  left  Esterhaz  to  enter 
the  service  of  Prince  Kinsky,  but  came  to  Vienna  in  1795  to  join 
the  operatic  orchestra,  and  at  once  became  noted  as  a  performer 
in  Haydn's  quartets.  He  was  (says  Eugene  Eiserle  in  Gloggl's 
"Neue  Wiener  Musik-Zeitung"  of  August  13, 1857), 

a  highly  sensitive  art-enthusiast,  and  one  of  the  first  of  those  who  foresaw 
and  recognized  Beethoven's  greatness.  He  attached  himself  to  Beet- 
hoven with  such  pertinacity  and  self-sacrifice  that  the  latter,  though  he  al- 
ways called  him  "his  fool,  "accepted  him  as  "a  most  intimate  friend,  "made 
him  acquainted  with  all  his  plans  for  compositions  and  generally  reposed 
the  utmost  confidence  in  him.  Krumpholz  formed  also  an  exceedingly 
close  friendship  with  his  countryman  Wenzel  Czerny,  a  music-teacher 
living  in  the  Leopoldstadt,  and  from  1797  onward  spent  most  of  his 
leisure  evenings  with  the  Czerny  family,  and  thus  the  little  son  Karl, 
in  his  eighth  and  ninth  years,  learned  almost  daily  what  works  Beethoven 
had  in  hand,  and,  like  Krumpholz,  became  filled  with  enthusiasm  for 
the  tone-hero. 

Krumpholz  was  a  virtuoso  on  the  mandolin,  and  hence,  prob- 
ably, that  page  of  sketches  by  Beethoven  in  the  Artaria  Collection 
headed  "Sonatine  fiir  Mandolin  u.  P.  F."  Among  the  Zmeskall 
papers  in  the  Royal  Imperial  Library  in  Vienna  there  is  a  half- 
sheet  of  coarse  foolscap  paper  upon  which  is  written  with  lead- 
pencil  in  huge  letters  by  the  hand  of  Beethoven, 

The  Music  Count  is  dismissed  with  infamy  to-day. — 

The  First  Violin  will  be  exiled  to  the  misery  of  Siberia. 

The  Baron  is  forbidden  for  a  whole  month  to  ask  questions  and 

never  again  to  be  overhasty,  and  he  must  concern  himself  with  nothing 

but  his  ipse  miserum. 

B. 

"Music  Count"  and  "Baron"  are,  of  course,  Zmeskall;  but 
these  notices  of  Beethoven's  various  first  violins  show  the  folly 


SCHUPPAXZIGH    AND    HiS    QuARTET  237 

of  attempting  to  decide  whether  one  of  them  or  Schuppanzigh  was 
to  be  sent  to  Siberia,  so  long  as  there  is  no  hint  whatever  as  to 
the  time  and  occasion  of  the  note. 

The  very  common  mistake  of  forgetting  that  there  is  a  time 
in  the  lives  of  distinguished  men  when  they  are  but  aspirants  to 
fame,  when  they  have  their  reputations  still  to  make,  often,  in  fact, 
attracting  less  notice  and  raising  feebler  hopes  of  future  distinc- 
tion in  those  who  know  them,  than  many  a  more  precocious  con- 
temporary— this  mistake  has  thrown  the  figures  of  Schu])panzigh 
and  his  associates  in  the  quartet  concerts  at  Prince  Carl  Lich- 
nowsky's  into  a  very  false  prominence  in  the  picture  of  these  first 
seven  years  of  Beethoven's  Vienna  life.  The  composer  himself 
was  not  the  Beethoven  whom  ive  know.  Had  he  died  in  ISOO, 
his  place  in  musical  history  would  have  been  that  of  a  great  piano- 
forte player  and  of  a  very  promising  young  composer,  whose 
decease  thus  in  his  prime  had  disappointed  well-founded  hopes 
of  great  future  eminence. 

This  is  doubly  true  of  the  members  of  the  quartet.  Had  they 
passed  away  in  early  manhood,  not  one  of  them,  except  perhajis 
young  Kraft,  the  only  one  who  ever  distinguished  himself  as  a 
virtuoso  upon  his  instrument,  would  liave  been  remenil)ered  in 
the  annals  of  music.  They  were  during  these  years  but  laying 
the  foundation  for  future  excellence  and  celebrity  as  performers 
of  Mozart's,  Haydn's,  Forster's  and  Beethoven's  quartets.  Schuj)- 
panzigh,  first  violin,  and  Weiss,  viola,  alone  appear  to  have  been 
constantly  associated  in  their  quartet-playing.  Knift,  violon- 
cellist, was  often  absent,  when  his  father,  or  Zmeskall,  or  some 
other,  supplied  his  place;  and  as  the  second  violin  was  often  taken 
by  the  master  of  the  house,  when  they  were  engaged  for  private 
concerts,  Sina  was,  naturally,  absent.  Still,  from  17!)4  to  17!)!), 
the  four  appear  to  have  practised  much  and  very  regularly  to- 
gether. They  enjoyed  an  advantage  known  to  no  other  ciuarlet — 
that  of  playing  the  comimsitions  of  Haydn  and  Fiirster  und<r  the 
eyes  of  the  composers,  and  being  taught  by  them  evi-ry  elfecf 
that  the  music  was  intended  to  produce.  Eacli  of  tlu-  p.-rformrrs, 
therefore,  knowing  j)r('cisely  the  intentions  of  the  composer,  ac- 
quired the  <liffienlt  art  of  being  indeix-ndent  and  at  the  same  time 
of  being  subordinate  to  the  general  elFect.  When  B^-etlioven  began 
to  compose  (luartets  he  had,  therefore,  a  set  of  jxTformers  schooled 
to  perfection  by  his  great  predecessors,  and  who  alnady  had 
experience  in  his  own  music  through  his  trios  and  (piart.ts. 

Ignatz  Schuppanzigli.  tlie  leader,  born  177r».  died  March  2, 
1830  in  Vienna,  originally  studied  music  as  a  dilettante  and  became 


238  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

a  capital  player  of  the  viola;  but,  about  the  time  when  Beethoven 
came  to  Vienna,  he  exchanged  that  instrument  for  the  violin  and 
made  music  his  profession.  He  was  fond  of  directing  orchestral 
performances  and  seems  to  have  gained  a  considerable  degree  of 
local  reputation  and  to  have  been  somewhat  of  a  favorite  in  that 
capacity  before  reaching  his  21st  year.  In  1798-99,  he  took  charge 
of  those  concerts  in  the  Augarten  established  by  Mozart  and 
Martin,  and  afterwards  led  by  Rudolph.  Seyfried,  writing  after 
his  death,  calls  Schuppanzigh  a  "natural  born  and  really  energetic 
leader  of  the  orchestra."  The  difference  in  age,  character  and 
social  position  between  him  and  Beethoven  was  such  as  not  to 
admit  between  them  that  higher  and  nobler  friendship  which 
united  the  latter  and  Zmeskall;  but  they  could  be,  and  were,  of 
great  use  to  each  other,  and  there  was  a  strong  personal  liking, 
if  not  affection,  which  was  mutual.  Schuppanzigh's  person  early 
assumed  very  much  of  the  form  and  proportions  of  Sterne's  Dr. 
Slop,  and  after  his  return  from  Russia  he  is  one  of  the  "Milord 
Falstaffs"  of  Beethoven's  correspondence  and  Conversation  Books. 
His  obesity  was,  however,  already  the  subject  of  the  composer's 
jests,  and  he  must  have  been  an  exceedingly  good-tempered  young 
man,  to  bear  with  and  forgive  the  coarse  and  even  abusive 
text  of  the  short  vocal  piece  (1801)  headed  "Lob  auf  den  Dicken" 
("Praise  of  the  Fat  One").  But  it  is  evidently  a  mere  jest,  and 
was  taken  as  such.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  Beethoven  and 
Schuppanzigh  in  addressing  each  other  used  neither  the  familiar 
"du"  nor  the  respectful  "Sie,"  but  "er" — a  fact  which  has  been 
supposed  to  prove  Beethoven's  great  contempt  for  the  violinist; 
but  as  it  would  prove  equal  contempt  on  the  other  side,  it  proves 
too  much.  Of  Sina  and  Weiss,  both  Silesians  by  birth,  there  is 
little  that  need  be  added  here.  Weiss  became  the  first  viola 
player  of  Vienna,  and  a  not  unsuccessful  composer  of  ballet  and 
other  music. 

Anton  Kraft  (the  father)  came  from  Bohemia  to  pursue  his 
legal  studies  in  Vienna,  but  abandoned  them  to  enter  the  Imperial 
Court  Orchestra  as  violoncellist.  In  1778,  he  accepted  an  invita- 
tion from  Haydn  to  join  the  orchestra  in  Esterhaz;  where,  on 
the  18th  of  December  of  the  same  year,  his  son  Nicholas  Anton 
was  born.  The  child,  endowed  by  nature  with  great  musical 
talents,  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  his  father's  instructions  and 
example  and  of  growing  up  under  the  eye  of  Haydn  and  in  the 
constant  study  of  that  great  musician's  works,  tfpon  the  death 
of  Esterhazy  and  the  dispersion  of  his  orchestra,  Kraft  came  with 
his  son,  now  in  his  fourteenth  year,  to  Vienna.     On  April  15th, 


Knowledge  of  Orchestil\l  Instruments         239 

1792,  Nicholas  played  a  concerto  composed  by  his  father  at  the 
"Widows  and  Orphans"  concert,  and  on  the  21st  again  appeared 
in  a  concert  given  by  the  father.  Notwithstanding  a  very  remark- 
able success,  the  son  was  destined  for  anoUier  profession  tlian 
music;  and  from  this  time  until  his  eighteen tli  year,  he  played 
his  instrument  only  as  an  amateur,  and  as  such  Beethoven  first 
knew  the  youth.  But  when  the  young  Prince  Lobkowitz  formed 
his  orchestra  in  1796,  both  the  Krafts  were  engaged,  and  Nicholas 
Anton  thenceforth  made  music  his  profession.  In  tlie  maturity 
of  his  years  and  powers,  his  only  rival  among  all  the  German 
violoncellists  was  Bernhard  Romberg, 

Schindler,  with  his  characteristic  inattention  to  dates, 
observes,  speaking  of  Schuppanzigh,  Weiss  and  the  elder  Kraft: 

These  three  artists  are  intimately  connected  with  the  development 
of  Beethoven  and,  indeed,  with  a  large  portion  of  his  creations;  whore- 
fore  they  will  frequently  be  remembered  here.  Meanwhile  it  may  suHice 
to  say  that  it  was  to  this  company  of  practically-trained  musicians  tluit 
the  rising  young  composer  owed  his  knowledge  of  the  efficient  use  of 
stringed  instruments.  In  addition  are  to  be  mentioned  Joseph  Friod- 
lowsky,  who  taught  our  master  the  mechanism  of  the  clarinet,  and  the 
famous  hornist,  Johann  Wenzel  Stich,  who  called  himself  Giovanni 
Punto  in  Italian,  to  whom  Beethoven  owed  what  he  knew  of  the  proper 
writing  for  horn,  of  which  he  already  gave  striking  illustration  in  his 
Sonata  for  Horn,  Op.  17.  In  the  mechanism  of  the  flute  and  its  con- 
struction, which  underwent  so  many  changes  in  the  first  decades  of  tiie 
century,  Carl  SchoU  steadily  remained  Beethoven's  instructor. 

There  is  doubtless  some  degree  of  truth  in  tJiis  in  so  far  as 
it  relates  to  a  later  period.  Punto,  of  course,  gave  Beethoven  a 
new  revelation  of  the  powers  and  possibilities  of  tlie  liorii,  as 
Dragonetti  did  of  the  contrabass;  but  he  first  came  to  Vienna 
near  the  end  of  1799,  and  died  at  Prague  only  three  years  after 
(February  10,  1803).  All  the  others  here  named  by  SchiiidhT 
— with  one  exception,  the  elder  Kraft — were  youths  of  1(>-1H 
years,  when  Beethoven  composed  }iis  first  and  second  concertos  - 
works  wliich  j)rove  tJiat  he  was  not  allogetiier  ignorant  of  the 
use  of  orcJiestral  instruments!  Had  Schindler  known  sonu'tliing 
of  the  history  of  Max  Franz's  orchestra  in  Bonn,  lie  would  liavc 
avoided  many  a  mistake,' 

'Rpothovfn  flid  not  alwnys  follow  iho  BiiffRrstions  of  llx-sc  mm.  ArronlinR  »o 
an  anordote  told  by  DoleXalok  to  Olto  .Falin.  Kraft  onr.-  rornplaiiird  that  n  (>«»'''*['' 
was  not  piayaMc  "It's  K'>1  to  br,"  answered  lleellioven.  In  a  like  vein  K.  Hoi/, 
relates  that  "IJeethoven  asked  an  exrellent  artist  wlxlher  or  not  eertnin  I  hint's  were 
possible";  the  question  of  hf)W  difFienlt  they  were  did  not  enter.  Thtu  Frie.ilowHky 
for  clarinet,  Czerwensky  for  oboe.  Uradezky  and  Merbst  for  horn.  If  othem  romnlained 
of  impossibilities  the  answer  was  "They  can  do  it  and  you  inunt."  (From  1  haycr  ■ 
papers.) 


240  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

Johann  Nepomuk  Hummel,  the  pupil  of  Mozart,  was  another 
of  tlie  youths  whom  Beethoven  drew  into  his  circle.  In  1795,  the 
elder  Hummel  brought  back  his  son  to  Vienna  (from  that  very 
successful  concert  tour  which  had  occupied  the  last  six  years  and 
had  made  tlie  boy  known  even  to  the  cities  of  distant  Scotland) 
and  put  him  to  the  studies  of  counterpoint  and  composition  with 
Albrechtsberger  and  Salieri.  He  seems  to  have  been  quietly 
at  his  studies,  playing  only  in  private,  until  April  28th,  1799, 
when  he  again  appeared  in  public  both  as  pianist  and  composer, 
in  a  concert  in  the  Augartensaal,  directed  by  Schuppanzigh.  "He 
performed  a  symphony  besides  a  melodrama  composed  for  the 
occasion  and  between  them  played  prettily  composed  improvi- 
sations on  the  pianoforte."  That  the  talented  and  promising  boy 
of  seventeen  years  should,  upon  arriving  home  again,  seek  the 
acquaintance  and  favor  of  one  who  during  his  absence  had  made 
so  profound  an  impression  upon  the  Vienna  public  as  Beethoven, 
and  that  the  latter  should  have  rejoiced  to  show  kindness  to 
]\Iozart's  favorite  pupil,  hardly  needs  to  be  mentioned.  A  chapter 
of  description  would  not  illustrate  the  nature  of  their  intercourse 
so  vividly,  as  two  short  but  exceedingly  characteristic  notes  of 
Beethoven's  which  Hummel  preserved  and  which  found  their 
way  into  print  after  his  death: 

I 

He  is  not  to  come  to  me  again.  He  is  a  treacherous  dog  and  may 
the  flayer  get  all  such  treacherous  dogs ! 

II 

Herzens  Natzerl : 

You  are  an  honest  fellow  and  I  now  see  you  were  right. 
Come,  then,  to  me  this  afternoon.  You'll  find  Schuppanzigh  here  also 
and  we  two  will  bump,  thump  and  pump  you  to  your  heart's  delight. 
A  kiss  from 

Your 

Beethoven 
also  called  Mehlschoberl.  ^ 

In  a  letter  to  Eleonore  von  Breuning,  Beethoven  described 
many  of  the  Vienna  pianists  as  his  "deadly  enemies."  Schindler's 
observations  upon   the*  composer's   relations   with   the   Viennese 

'The  humor  to  which  Beethoven  resorts  in  this  note  in  order  to  show  his  con- 
trition necessarily  evaporates  in  any  attempt  to  translate  its  Viennese  colloquialisms. 
"Herzens  Natzerl"  is  to  be  understood  as  "Dear  little  Ignacius  of  my  heart,"  Nazerl 
being  an  affectionate  diminutive  of  Ignaz  or  Ignacius.  Why  it  should  have  been  applied 
to  Hummel,  whose  Christian  names  were  Johann  Nepomuk,  does  not  appear.  "Mehl- 
schoberl"  is  a  term  which  has  survived  in  the  Austrian  cuisine  of  to-day,  the  article 
itself  being  a  sort  of  soup  dumpling. 


Envious  Viennese  Musicl\ns  ^241 

musicians,  though  written  in  his  peculiar  style,  seem  to  be  very 
judicious  and  correct. 

Nobody  is  likely  to  expect,  he  says  (Vol.  I,  23-24),  that  an  artist 
who  made  his  way  upwards  as  our  Beethoven,  although  almost  confining 
his  activities  exclusively  to  aristocratic  circles  that  upheld  him  in  extra- 
ordinary fashion,  would  remain  free  from  the  attacks  of  his  colleagues; 
on  the  contrary,  the  reader  will  be  prepared  to  see  a  host  of  enemies 
advance  against  him  because  of  the  shining  qualities  and  ovidences  of 
genius  of  our  hero,  in  contrast  with  the  heavy  burden  of  social  idiosyn- 
crasies and  uncouthness.  More  than  anything  else,  what  seemed  least 
tolerable  to  his  opponents  was  the  notion  that  his  appearance,  the 
excitability  which  he  controlled  too  little  in  his  intercourse  with  his 
colleagues  and  his  lack  of  consideration  in  passing  judgment  were  natural 
accompaniments  of  genius.  His  too  small  toleration  of  many  l)izarreries 
and  weaknesses  of  high  society,  and  on  the  other  hand  his  severe  demand 
on  his  colleagues  for  higher  culture,  even  his  Bonn  dialect,  afforded  his 
enemies  more  than  enough  material  to  revenge  themselves  on  him  by 
evil  gossip  and  slander.  .  .  .  The  musicians  in  Vienna  at  that  time, 
with  a  very  few  exceptions,  were  lacking,  not  only  in  artistic,  l)ut  also 
in  the  most  necessarj'  degree  of  general,  education  and  were  jvs  full  of  the 
envy  of  handicraftsmen  as  the  members  of  the  guilds  themselves.  There 
was  a  particular  antipathy  to  all  foreigners  as  soon  as  they  manifested  a 
purpose  to  make  their  homes  in  the  imperial  city. 

Schindler  might  have  added  that  the  change  had  been  in  no 
small  degree  produced  through  the  instructions  and  example  of 
Beethoven  as  they  acted  upon  the  Czernys,  Moscheles  and  other 
young  admirers  of  his  genius.  In  short,  Beethoven's  instant 
achievement  of  a  position  as  artist  only  paralNlcd  by  Mozart  ami 
of  a  social  rank  which  Gluck,  Salieri,  Iladyn  luid  gained  only  after 
making  their  names  famous  throughout  Europe,  together  wilh 
the  general  impression  that  the  mantle  of  IVIozart  liad  fallen  upon 
him — all  this  begat  bitter  envy  in  those  whom  his  talents  and 
genius  overshadowed;  they  revenged  themselves  by  deriding  him 
for  his  personal  7)eculiarities  and  by  condeniiu'ng  and  ridiculing 
the  novelties  in  liis  ronij)()sitions;  while  he  met  their  envy  with 
disdain,  their  criticisms  witJi  contempt;  and,  when  he  did  not 
treat  their  comi)Ositions  with  indiHerence,  but  too  often  only 
noticed  them  with  sarcasm. 

This  picture,  certainly,  is  not  an  agreeable  one.  but  all  the 
evidence  proves  it,  unfortunately,  faithful.  Such  men  as  Salieri. 
Gyrowetz,  Weigl,  are  not  to  be  understood  as  included  in  the 
term  "pianist"  as  u.sed  by  Beethoven  in  his  letL-r  to  Kleoiiore 
von  Breiining.  For  these  men  "stood  high  in  licet hoven's  res|)ecl," 
says  Schindler,  and  bis  words  are  confirmed  to  flic  fullest  extent 
by    the    Conversation    Books    and  other   authorities;  which    also 


24 -^^  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

show  that  Eybler's  name  might  have  been  added  to  the  list. 
They  were  all  more  or  less  older  than  Beethoven,  and  for  their 
contrapuntal  learning,  particularly  in  the  case  of  Weigl  and  Eybler, 
he  esteemed  them  very  highly.  No  indications,  however,  have 
been  found,  that  he  was  upon  terms  of  close  private  friendship 
and  intimacy  with  either. 

Beethoven  was  no  exception  to  the  general  rule,  that  men  of 
genius  delight  in  warm  and  lasting  friendships  with  women  of 
superior  minds  and  culture — not  meaning  those  "conquests"  which, 
according  to  Wegeler,  even  during  his  first  three  years  in  Vienna, 
*'he  occasionally  made,  which  if  not  impossible  for  many  an  Adonis 
would  still  have  been  difficult."  Let  such  matters,  even  if  details 
concerning  them  were  now  attainable,  be  forgotten.  His  celibacy 
,was  by  no  means  owing  to  a  deliberate  choice  of  a  single  life. 
What  is  necessary  and  proper  of  the  little  that  is  known  on  this 
point  will,  in  due  time,  be  imparted  simply  and  free  from  gloss 
or  superfluous  comment.  As  to  his  friendships  with  the  other 
sex,  it  would  be  throwing  the  view  of  them  into  very  false  per- 
spective to  employ  those  of  later  years  in  giving  piquancy  to  a 
chapter  here.  Let  them  also  come  in  due  order  and  thus,  while 
they  lose  nothing  of  interest,  they  may,  perchance  afford  relief 
and  give  brightness  to  canvas  which  otherwise  might  sometimes 
become  too  sombre.  Happily  during  these  prosperous  years  now 
before  us,  the  picture  has  been  for  the  most  part  bright  and  sunny 
and  the  paucity  of  the  information  upon  the  topic  in  question  is 
of  less  consequence. 

In  the  present  connection  one  of  our  old  Bonn  friends  again 
comes  upon  the  scene.  The  beautiful,  talented  and  accomplished 
Magdalene  Willmann  was  invited  to  sing  at  Venice  during  the 
carnival  of  1794.  She  left  Bonn  the  preceding  summer  with  her 
brother  Max  and  his  wife  (Fraulein  Tribolet)  to  fulfill  the  engage- 
ment. After  leaving  Venice,  they  gave  a  concert  in  Gratz,  and 
journeyed  on  to  Vienna.  Here  Max  and  his  wife  remained,  having 
accepted  engagements  from  Schikaneder,  while  Magdalene  went 
on  to  Berlin.  Not  suiting  the  operatic  public  there  she  returned 
to  Vienna,  and  was  soon  engaged  to  sing  both  German  and  Italian 
parts  in  the  Court  Opera.  Beethoven  renewed  his  intercourse 
with  them  and  soon  became  so  captivated  with  the  charms  of 
the  beautiful  Magdalene  as  to  offer  her  his  hand.  This  fact  was 
communicated  to  the  author  by  a  daughter  of  Max  Willmann, 
still  living  in  1860,  who  had  often  heard  her  father  speak  of  it. 
To  the  question,  why  her  aunt  did  not  accept  the  offer  of  Beet- 
hoven,  Madame   S.   hesitated   a   moment,   and   then,   laughing, 


Friendships  with  Women  243 

replied:  "Because  he  was  so  ugly,  and  half  crazy!"  In  1709, 
Magdalene  married  a  certain  Galvani,  but  her  happiness  was 
short;  she  died  toward  the  end  of  1801. 

Two  letters  of  Beethoven  to  be  found  in  the  printed  collection 
have  been  preserv^ed  from  the  period  before  us,  addressed  to 
Christine  Gerhardi,  a  young  woman  of  high  distinction  in  society 
at  the  time  for  the  splendor  of  her  talents  and  her  high  culture. 
Dr.  Sonnleithner  wrote  of  her: 

She  was  the  daughter  of  an  official  at  the  court  of  the  Emperor 
Leopold  II  ...  an  excellent  singer,  but  remained  a  dilettante  and  sang 
chiefly  in  concerts  for  charitable  purposes  (which  she  herself  arranged), 
or  for  the  benefit  of  eminent  artists.  Old  Professor  Peter  Frank  wjvs 
director  of  the  general  hospital  of  Vienna  in  the  neighborhood  of  whicli 
(Xo.  20  Alserstrasse)  she  lived.  He  was  a  great  lover  of  mnsic,  but 
his  son,  Dr.  Joseph  Frank,  was  a  greater;  he  made  essays  in  composition 
and  arranged  musical  soirees  at  the  home  of  his  father  at  which  Beet- 
hoven and  Fraulein  Gerhardi  took  part,  playing  and  singing.  The  son 
frequently  composed  cantatas,  which  Beethoven  corrected,  for  the  name- 
days  and  birthdays  of  his  father,  and  in  which  Fraulein  Gerluirdi  sang 

the  soprano  solos She  was  at  the  time  the  most  famous  amateur 

singer  in  Vienna,  and  inasmuch  as  Haydn  knew  her  well  tliere  is  no 
doubt  but  that  he  had  her  in  mind  when  he  composed  "The  Creation"; 
indeed,  she  sang  the  soprano  part  with  great  applause  not  only  at  Schwar- 
zenberg  but  also  at  the  first  performance  in  the  Burgtheatcr.  All  reports 
agree  that  she  met  Beethoven  often  at  Frank's  and  that  he  fre(|uently 
accompanied  her  singing  on  the  pianoforte.     He  did  not  give  her  lessons. 

Dr.  Joseph  von  Frank  and  Christine  Gerhardi  were  married 
on  August  20,  1798;  they  moved  away  from  Vienna  in  ISOI. 

A  few  notes  upon  certain  young  women  to  whom  Beethoven 
dedicated  compositions  at  this  period  of  his  life  may  form  no 
inappropriate  close  to  this  chapter.  It  was  much  the  custom  then 
for  teachers  of  music  to  dedicate  their  works  to  i)upils,  especially 
to  those  who  belonged  to  the  higher  .social  ranks — such  dedications 
being  at  the  same  time  comi)iiments  to  the  ])upils  and  a(lv«'rtis<»- 
ments  for  the  instructors,  with  the  farther  a<lvantage  often  of 
being  sources  of  y)ecimiary  ])r()fit.  When,  therefore,  we  read  the 
name  of  Baroness  All)iui  on  the  title-page  of  certain  sonatas  by 
Sterkel,  of  Julia  Countess  Guicciardi  on  one  by  Kleinhein/.  of 
Anna  Countess  Mailath  on  songs  by  Teyber,  we  assume  at  once 
the  probability  in  these  and  like  instances  that  the  relation  of 
master  and  pupil  existed.  Beethoven  also  followed  the  cuslotn; 
and  the  young  ladies,  subjects  of  the  following  notices,  are  .ill 
known  or  supposed  to  have  taken  lessons  of  him. 

Anna    Louisa    Barbara    ("La    Comtesse    Habette")    was    the 
daughter    of    Karl    Count    Keglevics    de    Busin,    of    Hungarian 


244  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

Croatian  lineage,  and  Barbara  Countess  Zichy.  She  married 
Prince  Innocenz  d'Erba  Odescalchi  on  the  10th  of  February,  1801 
(another  authority  gives  1800).  Beethoven's  dedications  to  her 
are  the  Sonata,  Op.  7  (published  in  1797),  the  Variations  "La 
stessa  la  stessissima"  (1799),  and  the  Pianoforte  Concerto,  Op.  15, 
1801 — the  last  to  her  as  Princess  Odescalchi.  A  note  by  the 
composer  to  Zmeskall — which,  judging  both  from  its  contents 
and  the  handwriting,  could  not  have  been  written  later  than  1801-2 
— shows  that  the  Odescalchi  palace  was  one  of  those  at  which  he 
took  part  in  musical  soirees. 

"Countess  HenrietteLichnowsky,"  writes  Count  Amade,  "was 
the  sister  of  the  ruling  Prince  Carl,  and  was  doubtless  married 
to  the  Marquis  of  Carneville  after  the  dedication  to  her  of  the 
Rondo  (G  major.  Op.  51,  No.  2,  published  in  September,  1802); 
she  lived  in  Paris  after  her  marriage  and  died  about  1830."  The 
Rondo  was  first  dedicated  to  Countess  Giulietta  Guicciardi,  but 
Beethoven  asked  it  back  in  exchange  for  the  C-sharp  minor  Sonata; 
to  which  fact  we  shall  recur  presently.  Countess  Thun,  to  whom 
Beethoven  dedicated  the  Clarinet  Trio,  Op.  11,  in  1797,  was  the 
mother  of  Prince  Carl  Lichnowsky  and  Countess  Henriette  Lich- 
nowsky.  She  died  May  18,  1800.  The  Sonata  in  E-flat,  Op.  27, 
No.  1,  was  dedicated  to  Josepha  Sophia,  wife  of  Prince  Johann 
Joseph  von  Liechtenstein,  daughter  of  Joachim  Egon,  Landgrave 
of  FUrstenberg-Weitra,  She  was  born  on  June  20,  1776,  married 
on  April  22,  1792  and  died  February  23,  1848.  Whether  her 
father  was  related  at  all,  and  if  so,  how,  to  the  Fiirstenberg  in. 
whose  house  Beethoven  gave  lessons  in  Bonn,  is  not  known.  Her 
husband,  however,  was  first  cousin  to  Count  Ferdinand  von  Wald- 
stein.  The  Baroness  Braun  to  whom  Beethoven  dedicated  the 
two  Pianoforte  Sonatas  Op.  14  and  the  Sonata  for  Horn  in  1801, 
was  the  wife  of  Baron  Peter  von  Braun,  lessee  of  the  National- 
theater  and  afterwards  of  the  Theater  an  der  Wien.  The  dedica- 
tions disclose  an  early  association  which  eventually  led  to  Beet- 
hoven's being  asked  to  compose  an  opera.  It  is  not  known  that 
Beethoven  was  a  social  visitor  in  the  house  of  Baron  Braun,  but 
he  was  a  highly  respected  guest  in  the  house  of  Count  Browne,  to 
whose  wife  Beethoven  dedicated  the  "Waldmadchen"  Variations 
and  the  three  Pianoforte  Sonatas,  Op.  10. 


Chapter  XVII 

Beethoven's  Character  and  PersonaHty — His  Disposition 

Love  of  Nature — Relations  with  the  Opposite  Sex — 
Literary  Tastes — His  Letters — Manner  of  Composing 
— The  Sketchbooks — Origin  of  His  Deafness. 

THE  year  1800  is  an  important  era  in  Beethoven's  lii.story.  It 
is  the  year  in  which,  cutting  loose  from  the  pianoforte,  lie 
asserted  his  claims  to  a  position  with  Mozart  and  the  still 
living  and  productive  Haydn  in  the  higher  forms  of  eh;unl)er  and 
orchestral  composition — the  quartet  and  the  synii)liony.  It  is 
the  year,  too,  in  which  the  bitter  consciousness  of  an  increasing 
derangement  of  his  organs  of  hearing  was  forced  upon  him  and  the 
terrible  anticipation  of  its  incurable  nature  and  of  its  final  result 
in  almost  total  deafness  began  to  harass  and  distress  him.  The 
course  of  his  life  was  afterwards  so  modified,  on  the  one  hand, 
by  the  prosperous  issue  of  these  new  appeals  to  the  taste  and 
judgment  of  the  public,  and,  on  the  other,  by  the  unhappy  pro^'ress 
of  liis  malady,  each  acting  and  reacting  upon  a  nature  sin^^Mdaily 
exceptional,  that  for  this  and  otlier  reasons  some  jmints  in  his 
personal  character  and  habits,  and  a  few  general  remarks  upon 
and  illustrations  of  anotluT  toj)ic  or  two  nnist  be  made  before 
resuming  the  narrative  of  events. 

A  true  and  exhaustive  picture  of  Beethoven  as  a  man  would 
present  an  almost  ludicrous  contrast  to  tJiat  which  is  ^'cncrally 
entertained  as  correct.  As  sculj)tors  au<l  painters  ]ia\«'  each  in 
turn  idealized  the  work  of  his  predecessor,  until  the  coni|)oser 
stands  before  us  like  a  Homeric  god  until  those  who  knew  liiin 
personally,  could  they  return  to  <'arth,  would  never  suspect  that 
the  grand  form  and  noble  feafuresof  the  more  pretentious  portraits 
are  intended  to  represent  the  sliort  muscular  (i^nre  and  pock- 
pitted  face  of  their  old  friend — so  in  literature  (>vokcd  hy  the  com- 
poser a  similar  [)rocess  has  ^'one  on,  with  a  corresponding  sui)|)res- 
sion  of  wJuitever  is  deemed  common  and  trivial,  until  he  is  made 
a  being  living  in  his  own  peculiar  realm  of  gigantic  ideas,  above 

(245) 


246  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

and  apart  from  the  rest  of  mankind — a  sort  of  intellectual  Thor, 
dwelling  in  "darkness  and  clouds  of  awful  state,"  and  making 
in  }iis  music  mysterious  revelations  of  things  unutterable!  But 
it  is  really  some  generations  too  soon  for  a  conscientious  investiga- 
tor of  his  history  to  view  him  as  a  semi-mythological  personage, 
or  to  discover  that  his  notes  to  friends  asking  for  pens,  making 
appointments  to  dinner  at  taverns,  or  complaining  of  servants, 
are  "cyclopean  blocks  of  granite,"  which,  like  the  "chops  and 
tomato  sauce"  of  Mr.  Pickwick,  contain  depths  unfathomable 
of  profound  meaning.  The  present  age  must  be  content  to  find 
in  Beethoven,  with  all  his  greatness,  a  very  human  nature,  one 
which,  if  it  showed  extraordinary  strength,  exhibited  also  extraor- 
dinary weaknesses. 

It  was  the  great  misfortune  of  Beethoven's  youth — his  im- 
pulses good  and  bad  being  by  nature  exceedingly  quick  and  violent 
— that  he  did  not  grow  up  under  the  influence  of  a  wise  and  strict 
parental  control,  which  would  have  given  him  those  habits  of 
self-restraint  that,  once  fixed,  are  a  second  and  better  nature, 
and  through  which  the  passions,  curbed  and  moderated,  remain 
only  as  sources  of  noble  energy  and  power.  His  very  early  admis- 
sion into  the  orchestra  of  the  theatre  as  cembalist,  was  more  to 
the  advantage  of  his  musical  than  of  his  moral  development. 
It  was  another  misfortune  that,  in  those  years,  when  the  strict 
regulations  of  a  school  would  have  compensated  in  some  measure 
for  the  unwise,  unsteady,  often  harsh  discipline  of  his  father,  he 
was  thus  thrown  into  close  connection  with  actors  and  actresses, 
who,  in  those  days,  were  not  very  distinguished  for  the  propriety 
of  their  manners  and  morals.  Before  his  seventeenth  or  eighteenth 
year,  when  he  became  known  to  the  Breuning  family  and  Count 
Waldstein,  he  could  hardly  have  learned  the  importance  of  culti- 
vating those  high  principles  of  life  and  conduct  on  which  in  later 
years  he  laid  so  much  stress.  And,  at  that  period  of  life,  the 
character  even  under  ordinary  circumstances  is  so  far  developed, 
the  habits  have  become  so  far  formed  and  fixed,  and  the  natural 
tendencies  have  acquired  so  much  strength,  that  it  is,  as  a  rule, 
too  late  to  conquer  the  power  of  a  perfect  self-command.  At  all 
events,  the  consequences  of  a  deficient  early  moral  education  fol- 
lowed Beethoven  through  life  and  are  visible  in  the  frequent 
contests  between  his  worse  and  his  better  nature  and  in  his  con- 
stant tendency  to  extremes.  To-day,  upon  some  perhaps  trivial 
matter,  he  bursts  into  ungovernable  wrath;  to-morrow,  his  peni- 
tence exceeds  the  measure  of  his  fault.  To-day  he  is  proud,  un- 
bending, offensively  careless  of  those  claims  which  society  grants  to 


Inconsistent  Traits  of  Character  247 

people  of  high  rank;  to-morrow  his  humiHty  is  more  than  adequate 
to  the  occasion.  The  poverty  in  which  he  grew  up  was  not  without 
its  effect  upon  his  character.  He  never  learned  to  estimate  money 
at  its  real  value;  though  often  profuse  and  generous  to  a  fault, 
even  wasteful,  yet  at  times  he  would  fall  into  the  other  extreme. 
With  all  his  sense  of  nobility  of  independence,  he  early  formed 
the  habit  of  leaning  upon  others;  and  this  the  more,  as  his  malady 
increased,  which  certainly  was  a  partial  justification;  but  he  thus 
became  prone  to  follow  unwise  counsels,  or,  when  his  pride  was 
touched,  to  assert  an  equally  unwise  independence.  At  other 
times,  in  the  multitude  of  counsellors  he  became  the  victim  of 
utter  irresolution,  when  decision  and  firmness  were  indispen- 
sable and  essential  to  his  welfare.  Thus,  l>oth  by  following 
the  impulse  of  the  moment,  and  by  hesitation  when  a  prompt 
determination  was  demanded,  he  took  many  a  false  step,  which 
could  no  longer  be  retrieved  when  reflection  brought  with  it 
bitter  regret. 

It  would  be  doing  great  injustice  both  to  Beethoven  and  to 
the  present  writer  to  understand  the  preceding  remarks  as  being 
intended  to  represent  the  composer's  lapses  in  these  regards,  as 
being  more  than  unpleasant  and  unfortunate  episodes  in  the 
general  tenor  of  his  life;  but  as  they  did  occur  to  his  great 
disadvantage,  the  fact  cannot  be  silently  passed  over. 

A  romantically  sentimental  admiration  of  the  lieroes  of 
ancient  classic  literature,  having  its  origin  in  Paris,  had  become 
widely  the  fashion  in  Beethoven's  youth.  The  democrat  ic  tlieories 
of  the  French  sentimentalists  had  received  a  new  imi)ulse  from 
the  dignified  simplicity  of  the  foreign  representatives  of  the  young 
American  Republic,  Franklin,  Adams,  Jay — from  the  rrtircincnf 
to  private  life  on  their  plantations  and  fanns  of  the  great  military 
leaders  in  the  contest,  Washington,  (Ireene,  Schuyler,  K'nov  and 
others,  after  the  war  with  England  was  over;  from  the  prid*' 
taken  by  the  Freneh  officers,  who  had  served  in  America,  in  their 
insignia  of  tJie  order  of  the  Cincinnati;  and  even  from  the  letters 
and  journals  of  German  oflficers,  who,  in  captivity,  had  f(»rtne(I 
friendsliips  with  many  of  the  better  class  of  ll)e  republican  N'aders, 
and  seen  with  their  own  eyes  in  what  simplicity  they  lived  while 
guiding  the  destinies  of  the  new-born  nation.  Thns  through 
the  greater  part  of  Central  Europe  the  idea  became  current  of 
a  pure  and  sublime  humanity,  above  and  beyon«l  the  influence 
of  the  passions,  of  which  ("incinnatns,  Scipio,  ("ato.  Washington, 
Franklin,  were  the  .supposed  representatives.  Zschokkc^  makes 
his  Heuwen  say:  "Virtue  and  the  heroes  of  anticiuity  had  in.spired 


248  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

me  witli  enthusiasm  for  virtue  and  heroism";  and  so,  also,  Beet- 
lioven.  He  exalted  his  imagination  and  fancy  by  the  perusal 
of  tlie  German  poets  and  translations  of  the  ancient  and  English 
classics,  especially  Homer,  Plutarch  and  Shakespeare;  dwelt 
fondly  upon  the  great  characters  as  models  for  the  conduct  of 
life;  but  between  the  sentiment  which  one  feels  and  the  active 
principle  on  which  he  acts,  there  is  often  a  wide  cleft.  That 
Beethoven  proved  to  be  no  Stoic,  that  he  never  succeeded  in 
governing  his  passions  with  absolute  sway,  was  not  because 
the  spirit  was  unwilling;  the  flesh  was  weak.  Adequate  firmness 
of  character  had  not  been  acquired  in  early  years.  But  those 
who  have  most  thoroughly  studied  his  life,  know  best  how  pure 
and  lofty  were  his  aspirations,  how  wide  and  deep  his  sympathies 
with  all  that  is  good,  how  great  his  heart,  how,  on  the  whole, 
heroic  his  endurance  of  his  great  calamity.  They  can  best  feel  the 
man's  true  greatness,  admire  the  nobility  of  his  nature,  and  drop 
the  tear  of  sorrow  and  regret  upon  his  vagaries  and  faults.  He 
who  is  morbidly  sensitive,  and  compelled  to  keep  constant  ward 
and  watch  over  his  passions,  can  best  appreciate  and  sympathize 
with  the  man,  Beethoven. 

Truth  and  candor  compel  the  confession,  that  in  those  days 
of  prosperity  he  bore  his  honors  with  less  of  meekness  than  we 
could  wish;  that  he  had  lost  something  of  that  modesty  and 
ingenuousness  eulogized  by  Junker  ten  years  before,  in  his  Mer- 
gentheim  letter.  His  "somewhat  lofty  bearing"  had  even  been 
reported  by  the  correspondent  of  the  "Allgemeine  Musikalische 
Zeitung."  Traces  of  self-sufficiency  and  even  arrogance — faults 
almost  universal  among  young  and  successful  geniuses,  often  in 
a  far  higher  degree  than  was  true  of  Beethoven,  and  with  not  a 
tithe  of  his  reason — are  unquestionably  visible.  No  one  can  read 
without  regret  his  remarks  upon  certain  persons  not  named, 
with  whom  at  this  very  time  he  was  upon  terms  of  apparently 
intimate  friendship.  "I  value  them,"  he  writes,  "only  by  what 
they  do  for  me.  ...  I  look  upon  them  only  as  instruments 
upon  which  I  play  when  I  feel  so  disposed."  His  "somewhat 
lofty  bearing"  was  matter  for  jest  to  the  venerable  Haydn,  who, 
according  to  a  trustworthy  tradition,  when  Beethoven's  visits 
to  him  had  become  few  and  far  between  would  inquire  of  other 
visitors:  "How  goes  it  with  our  Great  Mogul?"  Nor  would 
the  young  nobles,  whose  society  he  frequented,  take  offence;  but 
it  certainly  made  him  enemies  among  those  whom  he  "valued 
according  to  their  service  and  looked  upon  as  mere  instruments" 
— and  no  wonder! 


Beethoven's  Self-Esteem  Injured  249 

Pierson,  in  his  edition  of  the  so-called  "Beethoven's  Stiidien," 
has  added  to  Seyfried's  personal  sketches  a  few  reminiscences 
of  that  Griesinger,  who  was  so  long  Saxon  Minister  in  Vienna, 
and  to  whom  we  owe  the  valuable  "Biographische  Notizen  iiber 
Joseph  Haydn."  One  of  his  anecdotes  is  to  the  purpose  here 
and  may  be  taken  as  substantially  historical. 

When  he  was  still  only  an  attache,  and  Beethoven  was  little 
known  except  as  a  celebrated  pianoforte  player,  both  being  still 
young,  they  happened  to  meet  at  the  house  of  Prince  Lobkowitz. 
In  conversation  with  a  gentleman  present,  Beethoven  said  in 
substance,  that  he  wished  to  be  relieved  from  all  bargain  and 
sale  of  his  works,  and  would  gladly  find  some  one  willing  to  pay 
him  a  certain  income  for  life,  for  which  he  should  possess  the 
exclusive  right  of  publishing  all  he  wrote;  adding,  "and  I  would 
not  be  idle  in  composition.  I  believe  Goethe  does  this  with  Cotta, 
and,  if  I  mistake  not,  Handel's  London  publisher  held  similar 
terms  with  him." 

"My  dear  young  man,"  returned  the  other,  "You  must  not 
complain;  for  you  are  neither  a  Goethe  nor  a  Handel,  and  it  is 
not  to  be  expected  that  you  ever  will  be;  for  such  masters  will 
not  be  born  again."  Beethoven  bit  his  lips,  gave  a  most  con- 
temptuous glance  at  the  speaker,  and  said  no  more.  Lobkowitz 
endeavored  to  appease  him,  and  in  a  subsequent  conversation 
said: 

"My  dear  Beethoven,  the  gentleman  did  not  intend  to  wound 
you.  It  is  an  established  maxim,  to  which  most  men  axlhere, 
that  the  present  generation  cannot  possibly  produce  such  mighty 
spirits  as  the  dead,  who  have  already  winicd  their  fame." 

"So  much  the  worse.  Your  Highnes.s,"  retorted  l^vtlioven: 
"but  with  men  who  will  not  Ix^lieve  and  trust  in  me  because 
lam  as  yet  unknown  to  universal  fame,  I  cannot  hold  intercoiirM-I" 

It  is  easy  for  this  generation,  whicJi  Jias  the  productions  of 
the  composer's  whole  life  as  the  basis  of  its  ju<lgiucnf  of  his 
powers,  to  speak  disparagingly  of  }u's  contemporaries  for  iiof  bring 
able  to  discover  in  his  first  twelve  or  fifteen  works  good  reason 
for  classing  him  with  (JoetJie  and  Handel;  biil  lie  who  stands 
upon  a  mountain  cannot  justly  ridicule  him  on  the  plain  for  the 
narrow  extent  of  his  view.  It  was  us  dillienlt  then  to  eoneeiv«* 
the  possibility  of  instrnni<-nfal  music  Ix-iiig  elevat<'<l  to  lieight.s 
greater  than  those  reached  by  Haydn  and  Mo/.art.as  it  in  for  us 
to  conceive  of  Beethoven  being  hereafter  surpassi-d. 

In  the  short  personal  sketches  of  Beethoven's  friends  whieli 
have  been  introduced,  the  dates  of  their  birtJis  have  been  noted 


250  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

so  far  as  known,  that  the  reader  may  observe  how  very  large  a 
proportion  of  them  were  of  the  same  age  as  the  composer,  or  still 
j'ounger — some  indeed  but  boys — when  he  came  to  Vienna.  And 
so  it  continued.  As  tlie  years  pass  by  in  our  narrative  and  names 
familiar  to  us  disappear,  the  new  ones  which  take  their  places, 
witli  rare  exceptions,  are  still  of  men  much  younger  than  him- 
self. The  older  generation  of  musical  amateurs  at  Vienna,  van 
Swieten  and  his  class,  had  accepted  the  young  Bonn  organist 
and  patronized  him,  as  a  pianist.  But  when  Beethoven  began 
to  press  his  claims  as  a  composer,  and,  somewhat  later,  as  his 
deafness  increased,  to  neglect  his  playing,  some  of  the  elder  friends 
had  passed  away,  others  had  withdrawn  from  society,  and  the 
number  was  few  of  those  who,  like  Lichnowsky,  could  compre- 
hend that  departures  from  the  forms  and  styles  of  Mozart  and 
Haydn  were  not  necessarily  faults.  With  the  greater  number,  as 
perifection  necessarily  admits  of  no  improvement  and  both  quartet 
and  symphony  in  form  had  been  carried  to  that  point  by  Haydn 
and  Mozart,  it  was  a  perfectly  logical  conclusion  that  farther 
progress  was  impossible.  They  could  not  perceive  that  there 
was  still  room  for  the  invention  or  discovery  of  new  elements  of 
interest,  beauty,  power;  for  such  perceptions  are  the  offspring 
of  genius.     With  Beethoven  they  were  instinctive. 

One  more  remark:  Towards  the  decline  of  life,  the  master- 
pieces of  literature  and  art,  on  which  the  taste  was  formed,  are 
apt  to  become  invested  in  the  mind  with  a  sort  of  nimbus  of 
sanctity;  hence,  the  productions  of  a  young  and  daring  innovator, 
even  when  the  genius  and  talent  displayed  in  them  are  felt  and 
receive  just  acknowledgement,  have  the  aspect,  not  only  of  an 
extravagant  and  erring  waste  of  misapplied  powers,  but  of  a 
kind  of  profane  audacity.  For  these  and  similar  reasons  Beet- 
hoven's novelties  found  little  favor  with  the  veterans  of  the 
concert-room. 

The  criticism  of  the  day  was  naturally  ruled  and  stimulated 
by  the  same  spirit.  Beethoven's  own  confession  how  it  at 
first  wounded  him,  will  come  in  its  order;  but  after  he  felt  that 
his  victory  over  it  was  sure — was  in  fact  gained  with  a  younger 
generation — he  only  laughed  at  the  critics;  to  answer  them, 
except  by  new  works,  was  beneath  him.  Seyfried  says  of  him 
(during  the  years  of  the  "Eroica,"  "Fidelio,"  etc.):  "When  he 
came  across  criticisms  in  which  he  was  accused  of  grammatical 
errors  he  rubbed  his  hands  in  glee  and  cried  out  with  a  loud  laugh : 
'Yes,  yes!  they  marvel  and  put  their  heads  together  because 
they  do  not  find  it  in  any  school  of  thoroughbass!'  "     But  for  the 


The  Homage  of  Young  Disciples  251 

young  of  both  sexes,  Beethoven's  music  had  an  extraordinary 
charm.  And  this  not  upon  technical  grounds,  nor  solely  for  its 
novelties,  always  an  attractive  feature  to  the  young,  but  because 
it  appealed  to  the  sensibilities,  excited  emotions  and  touched  the 
heart  as  no  other  purely  instrumental  compositions  had  ever  done. 
And  so  it  was  that  Beethoven  also  in  his  quality  of  composer 
soon  gathered  about  him  a  circle  of  young  disciples,  enthusiastic 
admirers.  Their  homage  may  well  have  been  grateful  to  him — 
as  such  is  to  every  artist  and  scholar  of  genius,  who,  striking 
out  and  steadfastly  pursuing  a  new  path,  subjects  himself  to 
the  sharp  animadversions  of  critics  who,  in  all  honesty,  really 
can  see  little  or  nothing  of  good  in  that  which  is  not  to  be  measured 
and  judged  by  old  standards.  The  voice  of  praise  under  such 
circumstances  is  doubly  pleasing.  It  is  known  that,  when  Beet- 
hoven's works  began  to  find  a  just  appreciation  from  a  new  gener- 
ation of  critics,  who  had  indeed  been  schooled  by  them,  he  col- 
lected and  preserved  a  considerable  number  of  laudatory  articles, 
whose  fate  cannot  now  be  traced,  ^Yhen,  however,  the  natural 
and  just  satisfaction  which  is  afforded  by  the  homage  of  honest 
admirers  and  deservedly  eulogistic  criticism,  degenerates  into 
a  love  of  indiscriminate  praise  and  flattery,  it  becomes  a  weak- 
ness, a  fault.  Of  this  error  in  Beethoven  there  are  traces  easily 
discernible,  and  especially  in  his  later  years;  there  are  pages  of 
fulsome  eulogy  addressed  to  him  in  the  Conversation  Books, 
which  would  make  the  reader  blush  for  him,  did  not  the  mere 
fact  that  such  books  existed  remind  him  of  the  bitterness  of  the 
composer's  lot.  The  failing  was  also  sometimes  his  misfortune; 
for  those  who  were  most  profuse  in  their  flatteries,  and  thus 
gained  his  ear,  were  by  no  means  the  best  of  his  counsellors.  Hut 
aside  from  the  attractive  force  of  his  genius,  Beethoven  possessed 
a  personal  magnetism,  which  attached  his  young  worshipp«Ts 
to  him  and,  all  things  considered,  to  his  sohM  and  lasting  bcndil 
in  his  private  affairs.  Just  at  tin's  time,  and  for  some  years  to 
come,  his  brotliers  usually  rendered  him  the  aid  he  need<'<i;  but 
thenceforth  to  the  close  of  his  life,  the  nanu-s  of  a  constant  succes- 
sion of  young  men  will  api)ear  in  and  vanish  from  our  narrative, 
who  were  ever  necessary  to  him  and  ever  ready  al  his  call  with 
their  voluntary  services. 

Beethoven's  love  of  nature  was  already  a  mark.d  (rail  of 
his  character.  This  was  indulged  and  stn-ngthcnrd  by  h.ng 
rambles  upon  the  lofty  liills  and  in  tJic  exfiuisiteiy  bcaiiliful  vallrys 
which  render  the  environs  of  Vienna  to  the  north  and  west  so 
charming.    Hence,  wlien  he  left  tlic  city  to  spend  tlie  hot  summer 


25'-2  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

months  in  the  country,  with  but  an  exception  or  two  in  a  long 
series  of  years,  his  residence  was  selected  with  a  view  to  the  in- 
dulgence of  this  noble  passion.  Hence,  too,  his  great  delight 
in  the  once  celebrated  work  of  Christian  Sturm:  "Beobachtungen 
iiber  die  Werke  Gottes,"  which,  however  absurd  much  of  its  nat- 
ural philosophy  (in  the  old  editions)  appears  now  in  the  light 
of  advanced  knowledge,  was  then  by  far  the  best  manual  of 
popular  scientific  truth,  and  was  unsurpassed  in  fitness  to  awaken 
and  foster  a  taste  for,  and  the  understanding  of,  the  beauties  of 
nature.  Schindler  has  recorded  the  master's  life-long  study  and 
admiration  of  this  book.  It  was  one  which  cherished  his  vener- 
ation for  the  Creator  and  Preserver  of  the  universe,  and  yet  left 
his  contempt  for  procrustean  religious  systems  and  ecclesiastical 
dogmas  its  free  course.  "To  him,  who,  in  the  love  of  Nature, 
holds  communion  with  her  visible  forms,  she  speaks  a  various 
language,"  says  Bryant.  Her  language  was  thoroughly  well  un- 
derstood by  Beethoven;  and  when,  in  sorrow  and  affliction,  his 
art,  his  Plutarch,  his  "Odyssey,"  proved  to  be  resources  too  feeble 
for  his  comfort,  he  went  to  Nature  for  solace,  and  rarely  failed 
to  find  it. 

Art  has  been  so  often  disgraced  by  the  bad  morals  and  shame- 
less lives  of  its  votaries,  that  it  is  doubly  gratifying  to  be  able  to 
affirm  of  Beethoven  that,  like  Handel,  Bach  and  Mozart,  he 
did  honor  to  his  profession  by  his  personal  character  and  habits. 
Although  irregular,  still  he  was  as  simple  and  temperate  in  eating 
and  drinking  as  was  possible  in  the  state  of  society  in  which  he 
lived.  That  he  was  no  inordinate  lover  of  wine  or  strong  drinks 
is  certain.  No  allusion  is  remembered  in  any  of  his  letters,  notes, 
memoranda,  nor  in  the  Conversation  Books,  which  indicates  a 
liking  for  any  game  of  chance  or  skill.  He  does  not  appear  to 
have  known  one  playing-card  from  another.  Music,  books,  con- 
versation with  men  and  women  of  taste  and  intelligence,  dancing, 
according  to  Ries  (who  adds  that  he  could  never  learn  to  dance 
in  time — but  Beethoven's  dancing  days  were  soon  over — ),  and, 
above  all,  his  long  walks,  were  his  amusements  and  recreations. 
His  whim  for  riding  was  of  short  duration — at  all  events,  the 
last  allusion  to  any  horse  owned  by  him  is  in  the  anecdote  on  a 
previous  page. 

One  rather  delicate  point  demands  a  word :  and  surely,  what 
Franklin  in  his  autobiography  could  confess  of  himself,  and  Lock- 
hart  mention  without  scruple  of  Walter  Scott,  his  father-in-law, 
need  not  be  here  suppressed.  Nor  can  it  well  be,  since  a  false 
assumption  on  the  point  has  been  made  the  basis  already  of  a 


Beethoven's  Moil\l  Principles  Q53 

considerable  quantity  of  fine  writing,  and  emj^loyed  to  explain 
certain  facts  relative  to  Beethoven's  compositions.  Spending 
his  whole  hfe  in  a  state  of  society  in  which  the  vow  of  celibacy 
was  by  no  means  a  vow  of  chastity;  in  which  the  parentage  of  a 
cardinal's  or  archbishop's  children  was  neither  a  secret  nor  a 
disgrace;  in  which  the  illegitimate  offspring  of  princes  and  mag- 
nates were  proud  of  their  descent  and  formed  upon  it  well-grounded 
hopes  of  advancement  and  success  in  life;  in  which  the  moderate 
gratification  of  the  sexual  was  no  more  discountenanced  than 
the  satisfying  of  any  other  natural  appetite — it  is  nonsense  to 
suppose,  that,  under  such  circumstances,  Beethoven  could  liave 
puritanic  scruples  on  that  point.  Those  who  have  had  occasion 
and  opportunity  to  ascertain  the  facts,  know  that  he  had  not, 
and  are  also  aware  that  he  did  not  always  escape  the  couinion 
penalties  of  transgressing  the  laws  of  strict  purity.  But  lie  hail 
too  much  dignity  of  character  ever  to  take  part  in  scenes  of  low 
debauchery,  or  even  when  still  young  to  descend  to  the  familiar 
jesting  once  so  common  between  tavern  girls  and  tlie  guests. 
Thus,  as  the  elder  Simrock  related,  upon  the  journey  to  jNIergent- 
heim  recorded  in  the  earlier  pages  of  this  work,  it  haj)pened  at 
some  place  where  the  company  dined,  that  some  of  the  young 
men  prompted  the  waiting-girl  to  play  off  her  charms  upon  Beet- 
hoven. He  received  her  advances  and  famiharities  with  reixHent 
coldness;  and  as  she,  encouraged  by  the  others,  still  persevered, 
he  lost  his  patience,  and  put  an  end  to  her  importunities  by  a 
smart  box  on  the  ear. 

The  practice,  not  uncommon  in  his  time,  of  living  with  an 
unmarried  woman  as  a  wife,  was  always  abhorrent  to  luin  - 
how  much  so,  a  sad  story  will  hereafter  ilhistrate;  to  a  still  greater 
degree  an  intrigue  with  the  wife  of  another  man.  In  his  later 
years  he  so  broke  off  Iiis  once  familiar  intercourse  with  a  <iis- 
tinguished  composer  and  conductor  of  Vienna,  as  hardly  to  ii  hmi 
his  greetings  with  common  i)oliteness.  Scliindler  allirined  tli;il 
the  only  reason  for  this  was  that  tlie  man  in  (|neslion  had  taken 
to  his  bed  and  board  the  wife  of  another. 

The  names  of  two  married  womt-n  might  bo  here  given,  to 
whom  at  a  later  period  IJeetJioven  wa,s  warmly  atfaehed;  nanuvs 
which  ]iai)pily  have  hitherto  escaped  tlie  eyes  of  literary  .scnvengers. 
and  arc  therefore  liere  supi)ressed.  Certain  of  liis  friends  used 
to  joke  him  about  these  ladies,  and  it  is  certain  that  he  rather 
enjoyed  their  jests  even  when  the  insinuations,  that  his  afTeetion 
was  beyond  the  limit  of  the  Platonic,  were  somewhat  broad;  but 
careful  enquiry  has  failed  to  elicit  any  evidence  that  even  in  these 


254  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven  ' 

cases  he  proved  unfaithful  to  his  principles.  A  story  related  by 
Jahn  is  also  to  the  point,  viz. :  that  Beethoven  only  by  the  urgent 
solicitations  of  the  Czerny  family  was  after  much  refusal  persuaded 
to  extemporize  in  the  presence  of  a  certain  Madame  Hofdemel. 
She  was  the  widow  of  a  man  who  had  attempted  her  life  and  then 
committed  suicide;  and  the  refusal  of  Beethoven  to  play  before 
her  arose  from  his  having  the  general  belief  at  the  time,  that  a 
too  great  intimacy  had  existed  between  her  and  Mozart.  Jahn, 
it  may  be  observed,  has  recently  had  the  great  satisfaction  of 
being  able  to  prove  the  innocence  of  Mozart  in  this  matter  and 
of  rescuing  his  memory  from  the  only  dark  shadow  which  rested 
upon  it.  This  much  on  this  topic  it  has  been  deemed  necessary 
to  say  here,  not  only  for  the  reason  above  given,  but  to  put  an 
end  to  long-prevailing  misconceptions  and  misconstructions  of 
passages  in  Beethoven's  letters  and  private  memoranda  and  to 
save  farther  comment  when  they  shall  be  introduced  hereafter. 

Beethoven's  fine  sense  for  the  lyric  element  in  poetry  was 
already  conspicuous  in  the  fine  tact  with  which  the  texts  of  his 
songs,  belonging  in  date  to  his  last  years  in  Bonn,  were  selected 
from  the  annual  publications  in  which  most  of  them  appeared. 
Another  fine  proof  of  this  is  afforded  by  a  glance  through  the  older 
editions  of  Matthisson's  poems.  In  the  fourth  (1797),  there  are 
but  two  which  are  really  well  adapted  to  composition  in  the  song- 
form — the  "Adelaide"  and  "Das  Opferlied."  A  third  Beethoven 
left  unfinished.  He  had  doubtless  been  led  to  attempt  its  com- 
position through  the  force  of  its  appeal  to  his  personal  feelings 
and  sympathies,  but  soon  discovering  its  non-lyrical  character 
abandoned  it.     It  is  the  "Wunsch." 

Rochlitz  in  his  letters  from  Vienna  (1822)  reports  Beethoven's 
humorous  account  of  his  enthusiasm  for  Klopstock  in  his  early 
life: 

Since  that  summer  in  Carlsbad  I  read  Goethe  every  day,  that 
is,  when  I  read  at  all.  He  (Goethe)  has  killed  Klopstock  for  me.  You 
are  surprised?  And  now  you  laugh?  Ah  ha!  It  is  because  I  have 
read  Klopstock.  I  carried  him  about  with  me  for  years  while  walking 
and  also  at  other  times.  Well,  I  did  not  always  understand  him,  of 
course.  He  leaps  about  so  much  and  he  begins  at  too  lofty  an  elevation. 
Always  3/ae5<o.?o,  D-flat  major!  Isn't  it  so?  But  he  is  great  and  uplifts 
the  soul  nevertheless.  When  I  could  not  understand  him  I  could  sort 
of  guess.  If  only  he  did  not  always  want  to  die!  That  will  come  quickly 
enough.     Well,  it  always  sounds  well,  at  any  rate,  etc. 

Thus,  whatever  scattered  hints  bearing  upon  the  point  come 
under  our  notice  combine  to  impart  a  noble  idea  of  Beethoven's 
poetic  taste  and  culture,  and  to  show  that  the  allusions  to  the 


Beethoven  as  a  Letter- Writer  25 


xoo 


ancient  classic  authors  in  his  letters  and  conversation  were  not 
made  for  display,  but  were  the  natural  consequence  of  a  love 
for  and  a  hearty  appreciation  of  them  derived  from  their  frequent 
perusal  in  translations. 

Beethoven's  correspondence  forms  so  important  a  portion 
of  his  biography  that  something  must  be  said  here  upon  his 
character  as  a  letter-wTiter.  A  few  of  his  autograph  letters  bear 
marks  of  previous  study  and  careful  elaboration;  but,  in  general, 
whatever  he  wrote  in  the  way  of  private  correspondence  was 
dashed  off  on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  and  with  no  thought  that 
it  would  ever  come  under  any  eye  but  that  for  wliich  it  was  in- 
tended. It  is  therefore  easy  to  imagine  how  energetically  he 
would  have  protested  could  he  have  known  that  his  most  insig- 
nificant notes  were  preserved  in  such  numbers,  and  that  the  time 
would  come  when  they  would  all  be  made  public;  or,  still  worse, 
that  some  which  were  but  the  offspring  of  momentary  picjue 
against  those  with  whom  he  lived  in  closest  relations  would  be 
used  after  his  death  to  their  injury;  and  that  outbursts  of 
sudden  passion — when  the  wrong  was  perhaps  as  often  on  his 
side  as  on  the  other — after  all  the  parties  concerned  had  passed 
away,  would  have  an  almost  judicial  authority  accorded  to 
them. 

In  studying  a  collection  of  some  eight  hundred  of  his  letters 
and  notes, ^  originals  and  copies  in  print  or  manuscript,  the  most 
striking  fact  is  the  insignificance  of  by  far  the  greater  number 
— that  so  few  bear  marks  of  any  care  in  their  preparatiou,  or 
contain  matter  of  any  intrinsic  value.  In  fact,  perha|)s  tJie  greater 
part  of  the  short  notes  to  Zmeskall  and  otjiers  owe  tlieir  origin 
to  Beethoven's  dislike  of  entrusting  oral  messages  to  his  servants. 
For  the  most  part  it  is  in  vain  to  seek  in  his  correspondence 
anything  bearing  upon  the  theory  or  art  of  nuisic;  very  seldom 
is  any  opinion  expressed  upon  tlie  i)ro(luetions  of  any  contem- 
porary composer;  no  vivid  sketches  of  men  and  manners  flow 
from  his  pen,  like  those  which  render  the  letters  of  Mo/art  and 
Mendelssohn  so  charming.  The  jiroportion  of  their  <-orres|)ond- 
ence  wliich  possesses  more  than  a  merely  biographical  value  was 
large;  of  Beethoven's  very  small. 

His  letters,  of  course,  exhibit  tlie  usual  imp«Tfections  of  a 
hasty  and  confidential  correspondence;  .sometimes,  inch-ed,  of  an 
aggravated  character.     Some  of  them   contain   loose  statements 

>The  numluT  of  known  Ifttirs  and  floriimcnl.i  tmi  ki""""  Rrmtly  pinrr  ThAvrr 
wrote  these  words.  Kalischc-r's  Collortion  niimlirrd  over  lidO  nnd  Kmrnrh  Kanlnrr 
gives  the  6rst  lines  of  i;}H()in  Frimmels  second  "Ue<lhovcn  Jahrljurh"  puhlmhrd  in  IttOtt. 


2o()  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

of  fact,  such  as  all  men  are  liable  to  make  through  haste  or 
imperfect  knowledge;  others  contain  passages  of  which  the  only 
conceivable  explanation  is  Schindler's  statement  that  Beethoven 
sometimes  amused  himself  with  the  harmless  mystification  of 
others;  but,  taken  together,  the  more  important  letters — while 
they  usually  evince  his  difficulty  in  finding  the  best  expressions 
of  his  thoughts  and  his  constant  struggle  with  the  rules  of  his 
mother  tongue — place  his  truth  and  candor  in  a  very  favorable 
light  and  sometimes  rise  into  a  rude  eloquence.  The  reader  feels 
that  when  the  writer  is  unjust  he  is  under  the  influence  of  a  mis- 
take or  passion — and,  as  a  rule,  it  is  not  too  late  to  detect  such 
injustice;  that  his  errors  of  fact  are  simply  mistakes,  honestly 
made  and  easilj'^  corrected;  that  if,  in  the  mass,  a  few  paragraphs 
occur  which  can  be  neither  fully  justified  nor  excused,  it  is  not 
to  be  forgotten  that  they  were  not  intended  for  our  eyes  and  that 
they  were  written  under  the  constant  pressure  of  a  great  calamity, 
which  made  him  doubly  sensitive  and  irritable;  and  so  it  will 
be  easy,  like  Sterne's  Recording  Angel,  to  blot  such  passages  with 
a  tear. 

Another  striking  fact  of  Beethoven's  correspondence,  when 
viewed  as  a  whole,  is  the  proof  it  affords  that,  except  in  his  hours 
of  profound  depression,  he  was  far  from  being  the  melancholy 
and  gloomy  character  of  popular  belief.  He  shows  himself  here 
— as  he  was  by  nature — of  a  gay  and  lively  temperament,  fond  of 
a  jest,  an  inveterate  though  not  always  a  very  happy  punster, 
a  great  lover  of  wit  and  humor.  It  is  a  cause  for  profound 
gratitude  that  it  was  so;  since  he  thus  preserved  an  elasticity 
of  spirits  that  enabled  him  to  escape  the  consequences  of  brooding 
in  solitude  over  his  great  misfortune;  to  rise  superior  to  his  fate 
and  concentrate  his  great  powers  upon  his  self-imposed  tasks;  and 
to  meet  with  hope  and  courage  the  cruel  fortune  which  put  an 
end  to  so  many  well-founded  expectations  and  ambitious  projects, 
and  confined  him  to  a  single  road  to  fame  and  honor — that  of 
composition.  It  happens  that  several  of  the  more  valuable  and 
interesting  of  his  letters  belong  to  the  period  immediately  follow- 
ing that  now  before  us,  and  in  them  we  are  able  to  trace,  with 
reasonable  accuracy,  the  effect  which  his  incipient  and  increasing 
deafness  produced  upon  him — first,  the  anxiety  caused  by  earliest 
symptoms;  then  the  profound  grief  bordering  upon  despair  when 
the  final  result  had  become  certain;  and  at  last  his  submission 
to  and  acceptance  of  his  fate.  There  is  in  truth  something  nobly 
heroic  in  the  manner  in  which  Beethoven  at  length  rose  superior 
to  his  great  affliction.     The  magnificent  series  of  works  produced 


Beethoven  axd  His  Sketchbooks  257 

in  the  ten  years  from  1798  to  1808  are  no  greater  monuments 
to  his  genius  than  to  the  godlike  resokition  with  which  he  wrought 
out  the  inspirations  of  that  genius  under  circumstances  most 
fitted  to  weaken  its  efforts  and  restrain  its  energies. 

Beethoven  was  seldom  without  a  folded  sheet  or  two  of 
music  paper  in  his  pocket  upon  which  he  wrote  with  pencil  in 
two  or  three  measures  of  music  hints  of  any  musical  thought 
which  might  occur  to  him  w^herever  he  chanced  to  be.  Towards 
the  end  of  his  life  his  Conversation  Books  often  answered  the 
same  purpose;  and  there  are  traditions  of  bills-of-fare  at  dining- 
rooms  having  been  honored  with  ideas  afterwards  made  immortal. 
This  habit  gave  Abbe  Gelinek  a  foundation  for  the  following 
amusing  nonsense  as  related  by  Tomaschek:  "He  (Gelinek)  de- 
clared," says  Tomaschek, 

as  if  it  were  an  aphorism,  that  all  of  Beethoven's  compositions  were 
lacking  in  internal  coherency  and  that  not  infrequently  they  were  over- 
loaded. These  things  he  looked  upon  as  grave  faults  of  composition 
and  sought  to  explain  them  from  the  manner  in  which  Beethoven  went 
about  his  work,  saying  that  he  had  always  been  in  the  habit  of  noting 
every  musical  idea  that  occurred  to  him  upon  a  bit  of  paper  which  he 
threw  into  a  corner  of  his  room,  and  that  after  a  while  there  was  a  <'on- 
siderable  pile  of  the  memoranda  which  the  maid  was  not  permitted  to  touch 
when  cleaning  the  room.  Now  when  Beethoven  got  into  a  mood  for 
work  he  would  hunt  a  few  musical  rnotivi  out  of  his  treasure-heap  which 
he  thought  might  serve  as  principal  and  secondary  themes  for  the  com- 
position in  contemplation,  and  often  his  selection  was  not  a  lucky  one. 
I  (Tomaschek)  did  not  interrupt  the  flow  of  his  passionate,  yet  awkward 
speech,  but  briefly  answered  that  I  was  unf;imiliar  with  l^'cfhoveu's 
method  of  composing  })ut  was  inclined  to  think  that  the  alxTralions 
occasionally  to  be  found  in  his  com|)ositions  w<Te  to  l)e  ascribed  to  his 
individuality,  and  that  only  an  unprejudiced  and  ke<>n  psychologist, 
who  had  had  an  oppf)rtunity  t()  observe  Becllioveu  from  the  betrinning 
of  his  artistic  development  to  its  maturity  in  order  gradually  to  familiar- 
ize himself  with  his  views  on  art,  could  fit  himself  to  give  the  musical 
world  an  explanation  of  the  intellectual  cross-relationships  in  licet hoven's 
glorious  works,  a  thing  just  ;is  im[)ossil)l««  to  his  blind  entliusiusts  as 
to  his  virulent  op[)onents.  Gelinek  may  have  api)lied  these  hisl  wortls 
to  himself,  and  not  incorrectly. 

This  conversation  took  f)lace  in  IS  11,  the  day  after  a  re- 
hearsal of  Beethoven's  Symi)hony  in  A — the  Seventh!  (ielinek's 
pile  of  little  bits  of  paper  in  tJie  corner  of  the  room,  when  toucluMJ 
by  the  wand  of  truth,  resolves  itself  into  blank  music  books,  to 
which  his  new  ideas  were  transferred  from  the  original  .slight 
pencil  sketches,  and  frequently  with  two  or  three  words  to  in«li- 
cate  the  kind  of  composition  to  which  they  were  suited.  I)iver.s 
anecdotes  are  current  which  pretend  to  give  the  origin  of  some 


2o8  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

of  the  themes  thus  recorded  and  afterwards  wrought  out,  but 
few  judicious  readers  will  attach  much  weight  to  most  of  them. 
For  although  conceptions  can  sometimes  be  traced  directly  to 
their  exciting  causes,  the  musical  composer  can  seldom  say  more 
than  that  they  occurred  to  him  at  such  a  time  and  place — and 
often  not  even  that.  It  is  certainly  not  improbable  that  Beet- 
hoven's admirers  may  have  questioned  him  upon  this  point,  as 
Schindler  did  upon  the  "Pastoral"  Symphony,  and  that  he  was 
able  to  satisfy  them;  but  Handel's  "Harmonious  Blacksmith" 
may  be  taken  as  the  type  of  most  of  the  current  stories,  which 
only  need  truth  to  make  them  interesting. 

To  return  to  the  sketchbooks — which  performed  a  twofold 
office;  being  not  alone  the  registers  of  new  conceptions,  but  con- 
taining the  preliminary  studies  of  the  instrumental  works  into 
which  they  were  wrought  out.  The  introduction  to  the  excellent 
pamphlet,  "Ein  Skizzenbuch  von  Beethoven,  beschrieben  und 
in  Ausziigen  dargestellt  von  Gustav  Nottebohm,"  though  properly 
confined  by  him  to  the  single  book  which  he  was  describing,  is 
equally  true  of  so  many  that  have  been  examined  with  care  as 
to  warrant  its  general  application.  The  following  extracts  may 
be  taken  as  true  of  the  greater  part  of  the  sketchbooks: 

Before  us  (he  says)  lies  a  volume  in  oblong  folio  (Teatro)  of  192 
pages  and  bearing  16  staves  on  each  page,  and,  save  a  few  empty  places, 
containing  throughout  notes  and  sketches  in  Beethoven's  handwriting  for 
compositions  of  various  sorts.  The  volume  is  bound  in  craftsman's 
style,  trimmed,  and  has  a  stout  pasteboard  cover.  It  was  bound  thus 
before  it  was  used  or  received  the  notes.  [Excepting  the  number  of 
pages  this  description  applies  to  most  of  the  true  sketchbooks.]  The 
sketches  are  for  the  greater  part  one-part;  that  is,  they  occupy  but  a 
single  staff,  only  exceptionally  are  they  on  two  or  more  staves.  [In 
some  of  the  later  books  the  proportion  of  sketches  in  two  or  more  parts 
is  much  greater  than  in  this.]  It  is  permissible  to  assume  in  advance  that 
they  were  written  originally  and  in  the  order  in  which  they  follow  each 
other  in  the  sketchbook.  When  a  cursory  glance  over  the  whole  does 
not  seem  to  contradict  this  assumption,  a  careful  study  nevertheless 
compels  a  modification  at  times.  It  is  to  be  observed  that  generally 
Beethoven  began  a  new  page  with  a  new  composition;  and,  moreover, 
that  he  worked  alternately  or  simultaneously  at  different  movements. 
As  a  result,  different  groups  of  sketches  are  crowded  so  closely  together 
that  in  order  to  find  room  he  was  obliged  to  make  use  of  spaces  which 
had  been  left  open,  and  thus  eventually  sketches  for  the  most  different 
compositions  had  to  be  mixed  together  and  brought  into  companion- 
ship. [In  some  of  the  books  "vi-"  not  infrequently  meets  the  eye.  It 
was  the  one  of  Beethoven's  modes  of  keeping  the  clue  in  the  labyrinth 
of  sketches,  being  part  of  the  word  vide.  The  second  syllable,  "-de," 
can  always  be  found  on  the  same  or  a  neighboring  page.     "N.B.," 


How  THE  Sketching  Was  Done  259 

"No.  100,"  "No.  500,"  "No.  1000,"  etc.,  and  in  later  sketches  "raeilleur." 
are  common,  all  which  signs  are  explained  by  Schindler  as  being  a  whim- 
sical mode  of  estimating  the  comparative  value  of  different  musical  ideas, 
or  of   forms   of  the  same.     Again  Nottebohm  continues:    In  spite  of 
this  confused  working  it  is  plain  that  Beethoven,  as  a  rule,  was  conscious 
from  the  beginning  of  the  goal  for  which  he  was  striving,  that  he  was 
true  to  his  first  concept  and  carried  out  the  projected  form  to  tlie  end. 
The  contrary  is  also  true  at  times,  and  the  sketchbook  (like  others) 
disclosed  a  few  instances  in  which  Beethoven  in  the  course  was  led  from 
the  form  originally  conceived  into  another,  so  that  eventually  something 
different  appeared  from  what  was  planned  in  the  first  instance.     (Once 
more.)    In  general  it  may  be  observed  that  Beethoven  in  all  his  work 
begun  in  the  sketchbook  proceeded  in  the  most  varied  manner,  and  at 
times  reached  his  goal  in  a  direction  opposite  to  that  upon  which  he 
first    set    out.      [At    times]    the    thematic   style   dominates;    the   first 
sketch  breaks  off  abruptly  with  the  principal  subject  and  the  work  that 
follows  is  confined  to  transforming  and   reshaping   the   thematic  kernel 
at  first  thrown  on  the  paper  until  it  appears  to  befitted  for  devel<)j)inent; 
then  the  same  process  is  undertaken  with  intermediary  sections;  every- 
where we  find  beginnings,  never  a  whole;  a  whole  comes  before  us  only 
outside   of   the   sketchbook,  in  the  printed  composition  where  six-tions 
which  were   scattered   in   the   sketchbook  are   brought  together.      [In 
other  cases]  the  thematic  manner  is  excluded;  every  sketch   is  aimed 
at  a  unity  and  is  complete  in  itself;  the  very  first  one  gives  the  coniplrte 
outline  for  a  section  of  a  movement;  those  that  follow  are  then  complete 
reshapings  of  the  first,  as  other  readings  directed  towards  a  change  in 
the  summary  character,  or  a  reformation  of  the  whole,  an  extension  of 
the  middle  sections,  etc.     Naturally,  the  majority  of  the  sketches  do  not 
belong  exclusively  to  either  of  the  two  tendencies,  but  hover  between 
them,  now  leaning  toward  one,  now  toward  the  other. 

One  readily  sees  that,  when  the  general  plan  of  a  work  is 
clear  and  distinct  before  the  mind,  it  is  (piitc  indilTcrcnt  in  what 
order  the  various  parts  arc  studied;  and  that  Bcclhoven  .sinii)ly 
adopted  the  method  of  numy  a  dramatic  and  other  author,  who 
sketches  his  scenes  or  chaj)tcrs  not  in  course  Imt  as  mood,  fancy 
or  opportunity  dictates.  It  is  equally  evident  that  the  composer 
could  have  half  a  dozen  works  upon  his  hands  at  tlir  sauu«  time, 
not  merely  without  (lisadvantag<;  to  any  one  of  them,  but  to  the 
gain  of  all,  since  he  could  turn  to  one  or  another  as  tin-  spirit  of 
composition  impelled;  like  tin;  author  of  a  profound  iit.-rary  work, 
who  relieves  and  recreates  liis  nn'ud  by  varying  iiis  ial>ors.  and 
executes  his  grand  task  all  the  more  .satisfactorily,  hernuse  lir. 
from  time  to  time,  refresJu-s  himself  by  turning  )»is  attention  to 
other  and  lighter  topics.  WJicn  Beethoven  writ.-s  to  Weg.ler: 
"As  I  am  writing  now  I  oft<-n  compose  three  or  four  pieces  nt 
once,"  he  could  have  referred  only  to  the  |)rcliM.inary  stu.lies  of 
the  sketchbooks.     Sometimes,  it  is  true,   w.)rks  were   laid    a.sidc 


2G0  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

incomplete  after  he  had  begun  the  task  of  writing  them  out  in 
full,  and  finished  when  occasion  demanded;  but  as  a  rule  his 
practice  was  quite  different,  viz.:  All  the  parts  of  a  work  having 
been  thus  studied  until  he  had  determined  upon  the  form,  character 
and  style  of  every  important  division  and  subdivision,  and  re- 
corded the  results  in  his  sketchbook  by  a  few  of  the  first  measures, 
followed  by  "etc."  or  "and  so  on,"  the  labor  of  composition  may 
be  said  to  have  been  finished,  and  there  remained  only  the  task 
of  writing  out  the  clean  copy  of  what  now  existed  full  and  com- 
plete in  his  mind,  and  of  making  such  minor  corrections  and 
improvements  as  might  occur  to  him  on  revision.  The  manu- 
scripts show  that  these  were  sometimes  very  numerous,  though 
they  rarely  extend  to  any  change  in  the  form  or  to  any  alteration 
in  the  grand  effect  except  to  heighten  it,  or  render  it  more  unex- 
pected or  exciting.  When  upon  reflection  he  was  dissatisfied 
with  a  movement  as  a  whole  he  seems  rarely  to  have  attempted 
its  improvement  by  mere  correction,  choosing  rather  to  discard 
it  at  once  and  compose  a  new  one  based  either  upon  the  same 
themes  or  upon  entirely  new  motives.  The  several  overtures  to 
"Fidelio"  are  illustrations  of  both  procedures. 

The  sketches  of  the  greater  part  of  Beethoven's  songs,  after 
the  Bonn  period,  are  preserved,  and  prove  with  what  extreme 
care  he  wrought  out  his  melodies.  The  sketchbook  analysed  by 
Nottebohm  affords  a  curious  illustration  in  Matthison's  "Opfer- 
lied,"  the  melody  being  written  out  in  full  not  less  than  six  times, 
the  theme  in  substance  remaining  unchanged.  Absolute  cor- 
rectness of  accent,  emphasis,  rhythm — of  prosody,  in  short — 
was  with  him  a  leading  object;  and  various  papers,  as  well  as 
the  Conversation  Books,  attest  his  familiarity  with  metrical 
signs  and  his  scrupulous  obedience  to  metrical  laws.  Since  the 
shameful  mutilation  and  dispersion  of  Beethoven's  manuscripts 
at  the  time  of  their  sale,  probably  no  one  person  has  been  able 
to  trace  and  examine  half  of  the  sketchbooks;  still,  enough  have 
come  under  observation  during  the  researches  for  this  work  to 
estaVjlish  with  reasonable  certainty  these  points : 

I.  That  each  sketchbook  was  filled  in  pretty  regular  course 
from  beginning  to  end  before  a  new  one  was  taken. 

II.  That  had  the  collection  been  kept  entire  it  would  have 
afforded  the  means  of  determining  with  a  good  degree  of  certainty 
the  chronology  of  most  of  his  instrumental  works,  after  coming 
to  Vienna,  as  to  their  first  conception  and  studies — excluding, 
of  course,  those  which,  in  one  form  or  another,  he  brought  with 
him  from  Bonn. 


Symptoms  of  Approachixg  Del\fxess  261 

III.  That  the  more  important  vocal  compositions  were 
studied  separately. 

IV.  That  only  from  the  sketchbooks  can  an  adequate  idea  of 
the  vast  fertility  of  Beethoven's  genius  be  formed.  They  are 
in  music,  Hke  Hawthorne's  "Notebooks"  in  literature,  the  record 
of  a  never  ceasing  flow  of  new  thoughts  and  ideas,  until  death 
sealed  the  fountain  forever.  There  are  themes  and  hints,  never 
used,  for  all  kinds  of  instrumental  compositions,  from  the  trities, 
which  he  called  "Bagatelles,"  to  symphonies,  evidently  intemled 
to  be  as  different  from  those  we  know  as  they  are  from  each  otlier; 
and  these  hints  are  in  such  numbers,  that  those  which  can  be 
traced  in  the  published  works  are  perhaps  much  the  smalliT 
proportion  of  the  whole.  Whoever  has  the  will  and  opportunity 
to  devote  an  hour  or  two  to  an  examination  of  a  few  of  these 
monuments  of  Beethoven's  inventive  genius,  will  easily  conii>re- 
hend  the  remark  which  he  made  near  the  close  of  his  life:  "It 
seems  to  me  that  I  have  just  begun  to  compose!"^ 

One  topic  more  demands  brief  notice  before  closing  tliis 
chapter.  In  the  "Merrymaking  of  the  Countryfolk"  of  Beet- 
hoven's "Pastoral"  Symphony,  at  the  point  wliere  the  fun  grows 
most  fast  and  furious  and  the  excitement  rises  to  its  lieiglit.  an 
ominous  sound,  as  of  distant  thunder,  gives  the  first  faint  warn- 
ing of  the  coming  storm.  So  in  the  life  of  the  composer  at  the 
moment  of  that  highest  success  and  prosperity,  which  wc  lia\«' 
labored  to  place  vividly  before  the  mind  of  the  reader,  jn>f  when 
he  could  first  look  forward  with  well-grounded  confidence  to  tin- 
noblest  gratification  of  a  musician's  honorable  anil)iti<)n.  a  new 
and  discordant  element  thrust  itself  into  the  harmony  of  Ids  lif«'. 
This  was  the  .symptoms  of  approaching  deafness.  His  own 
account  fixes  their  appearance  in  the  year  17J)!);  then  they  w<Te 
still  so  feeble  and  intermittent,  as  to  liave  cansed  iiiin  at  lirst  no 
serious  anxiety;  but  in  another  year  tliey  had  assnined  so  nmcli  tli<- 
appearance  of  a  chronic  and  increasing  evil,  as  to  compel  Jijni  to 
abandon  plans  for  travel  which  lie  had  formed,  and  for  wiucli  Jie  wixa 


I 

rv 


•Opportunities  for  studyinj?  B.-.-thovcn'fi  »k«'lrhl)ookn  luivr  jtrrntly  incrm.r. 
Bince  Mr.  Thayer  wrote  tlwHC  words.  Notl.l)olim.  who  rcinl.Trd  nti  wkhIiiiUIiIo  mrviri 
to  all  students  of  the  >?r<-at  ronii)r.Mer  uft.r  Ih.-  I...<.k  from  wlii<h  f.iir  Aiilh.ir  .jiinira, 
piiMished  a  volume  entitled  "  Ue.l  hoveniaiia"  in  \H7i.  and  a  ».r<..nd  rnlill.d  '•/«rijc 
Heethoveniana"  in  IHH7.  To  tli.se  the  revisors  of  this  I.K.Krnphv  have  r,p.-ntpdly 
referred  in  traeinj?  the  history  of  Jleetlioven's  rompomlionn.  A  r..lle<li..n  uf  "k-t.  Iiri 
formerly  owned  by  J.  N.  Kafka  and  now  in  the  Hrili.sh  Museum  wan  dn.. nl.r.l  l.y 
Mr  J  S  Shedioek  in  "The  .Musieal  Times"  (July  to  Dreemhrr.  IHOi).  A  vohimo 
containing  sketehes  for  the  Inst  qnartels  i.s  at  the  present  writinK  in  the  p...i.r«,,on 
of  Mr.  Ceeiiio  do  Roda  of  Ma.lri.i  and  was  d.-s,rit,e,j  l.y  the  Kiv„l«  I<nl«»n«  '^'»''- 
XI-XIV.  1907)  and  also  pnhiished  in  pamphlet  form  un.ler  the  title  I  n  giin.lrena 
di  autogra6  di  Beethoven  del  1825." 


262  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

preparing  himself,  with  great  industry  and  perseverance,  to  appear  in 
the  twofold  capacity  of  virtuoso  and  composer.  Instead,  therefore, 
in  1801,  of  having  "long  since  journeyed  through  half  the  world," 
he,  for  two  years,  had  been  confined  to  Vienna  or  its  immediate 
vicinity,  vainly  seeking  relief  from  surgeons  and  physicians. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  imagine  calamities  greater  than  that 
which  now  threatened  Beethoven — as,  the  loss  of  sight  to  a  Raphael 
or  Rubens  in  the  height  of  their  fame  and  powers;  a  partial 
paralysis  or  other  incurable  disease  of  the  brain  cutting  short  the 
career  of  a  Shakespeare  or  Goethe,  a  Bacon  or  Kant,  a  Newton 
or  Humboldt.  Better  the  untimely  fate  of  a  Buckle,  than  to 
live  long  years  of  unavailing  regret  over  the  blasted  hopes  and 
promise  of  early  manhood.  In  such  cases  there  remains  no 
resource;  hope  itself  is  dead.  But  to  Beethoven,  even  if  his 
worst  fears  should  prove  prophetic  and  his  infirmity  at  length 
close  all  prospects  of  a  career  as  virtuoso  and  conductor,  the  field 
of  composition  still  remained  open.  This  he  knew,  and  it  saved 
him  from  utter  despair.  Who  can  say  that  the  world  has  not 
been  a  gainer  by  a  misfortune  which  stirred  the  profoundest 
depths  of  his  being  and  compelled  the  concentration  of  all  his 
powers  into  one  direction.'* 

As  the  disease  made  progress  and  the  prospect  of  relief  became 
less,  notwithstanding  a  grief  and  anxiety  which  caused  him  such 
mental  agony  as  even  to  induce  the  thought  of  suicide,  he  so  well 
succeeded  in  keeping  it  concealed  from  all  but  a  few  intimate 
and  faithful  friends,  that  no  notice  whatever  is  to  be  found  of 
it  until  1802  except  in  papers  from  his  own  hand.  They  form 
a  very  touching  contrast  to  his  letters  to  other  correspondents. 
Neither  the  head  nor  the  heart  is  to  be  envied  of  the  man  who 
can  read  them  without  emotion.  The  two  most  important  are 
letters  to  Wegeler  giving  full  details  of  his  case;  doubly  valuable 
because  they  are  not  merely  letters  to  a  friend,  but  an  elaborate 
account  of  the  symptoms  and  medical  treatment  of  his  disease, 
made  to  a  physician  of  high  standing  who  thoroughly  under- 
stood the  constitution  of  the  patient.  They  are  therefore  alike 
significant  for  what  they  contain  and  for  what  they  omit.  No 
hypothesis  as  to  the  cause  of  the  evil  can  be  entertained,  which 
is  discordant  with  them.  Reserving  them,  however,  for  their 
proper  places  in  the  order  of  time,  a  story  or  two  inconsistent 
with  them  may  here  be  disposed  of. 

The  so-called  Fischoff  Manuscript  says: 

In  the  year  1796,  Beethoven,  on  a  hot  summer  day,  came  greatly 
overheated  to  his  home,  threw  open  doors  and  windows,  disrobed  down 


Theories  as  to  the  Loss  of  He-\ring  263 

to  his  trousers  and  cooled  himself  in  a  draft  at  the  open  window.  The 
consequence  was  a  dangerous  sickness  which,  on  his  convalescence,  settled 
in  his  organs  of  hearing,  and  from  this  time  his  deafness  steadily  increased. 

In  this  passage  both  the  date  and  the  averment  are  irrecon- 
cilable with  the  letters  to  Wegeler. 

Dr.  Weissenbach,  in  his  "Reise  zum  Congress"  (1814),  gives 
what  appears  to  be  the  same  story  but  in  fewer  words.  "He 
(Beethoven)  once  endured  a  fearful  attack  of  typhus.  From 
this  time  dates  the  decay  of  his  nervous  system,  and  probai)Iy 
also  the,  to  him,  great  misfortune  of  the  loss  of  hearing."  Neitlier 
a  typhus  nor  a  typhoid  fever  is  a  matter  of  a  few  days  or  weeks 
if  severe;  and  the  chronology  of  our  narrative  is,  to  say  the  least, 
so  far  fixed  and  certain  as  to  exclude  the  possibility  of  his  having 
passed  through  any  very  serious  illness  of  that  nature  since  he 
came  to  Vienna.  But  it  is  not  at  all  improbable  that,  in  1784 
or  1785,  he  may  have  been  a  victim  to  this  frightful  disijrdcr, 
and  that  it  may  have  been  the  cause  of  his  melancholy  condition 
of  health  at  the  time  of  his  mother's  death,  and  of  the  chronic 
diarrhoea  with  which  he  was  so  long  troubled.  True,  there  is 
no  record  of  such  an  illness;  but  that  proves  nothing.  There  is 
no  record  that  he  passed  through  an  attack  of  small-pox,  except 
that  which  the  disease  left  upon  his  face. 

But  the  most  extraordinary  and  inexplicable  account  of  the 
origin  of  his  deafness  is  that  given  by  Beethoven  himself  to  tlie 
English  pianist,  Charles  Neate,  in  1815.  Mr.  Ncate  was  once 
urging  Beethoven  to  visit  Pmgland  and  mentioned  as  a  farther 
inducement  the  great  skill  of  certain  P^nglish  i)jiysicians  in  treat- 
ing diseases  of  the  ear,  assuring  him  tJiat  he  might  cherish  hoi)es 
of  relief.  Beethoven  replied  in  substance  as  follows:  "No;  I 
have  already  had  all  sorts  of  medical  advice.  I  shall  never  b.' 
cured — I  will  tell  you  how  it  liappened.  I  was  once  busy  writing 
an  opera — 

Neate:  "Fidelio.^" 

Beethoven:  "No.  It  was  not  'Fidelio.'  I  had  a  very  dl- 
tempered,  troublesome  primo  tcnorc  to  <leal  with.  I  )iad  already 
written  two  grand  airs  to  the  same  t<'xt,  with  which  he  was  <lis.satis- 
fied,  and  now  a  third  whidi,  upon  trial,  lie  .secnn-d  t«)  approve  aii<i 
took  away  with  him.  I  thanked  tlie  stars  that  1  was  at  leii^rlh 
rid  of  him  and  sat  down  iininediafely  to  a  work  wliicli  I  liad 
laid  aside  for  tliose  airs  and  wliicli  I  was  anxious  to  finish.  I 
had  not  been  half  an  liour  at  work,  when  I  Iward  a  kn(K-k  at  my 
door,  which  I  at  once  recognized  as  that  of  my  ]nimn  tnwre.  I 
sprang  up  from  my  table  under  sucJi  an  excitement  of  rage,  that, 


264  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

as  the  man  entered  the  room,  I  threw  myself  upon  the  floor  as 
they  do  upon  the  stage  (here  B.  spread  out  his  arms  and  made 
a  gesture  of  illustration),  coming  down  upon  my  hands.  When 
I  arose  I  found  myself  deaf  and  have  been  so  ever  since.  The 
physicians  say,  the  nerve  is  injured." 

That  Beethoven  really  related  this  strange  story  cannot  be 
questioned;  the  word  of  the  venerable  Charles  Neate  to  the 
author  is  sufficient  on  that  point.  What  is  to  be  thought  of  it, 
is  a  very  different  matter.  Here  at  least  it  may  stand  without 
comment. 


Chapter  XVIII 

Beethoven's  Brothers — His  First  Concert  on  His  Own  Ac- 
count— Punto  and  the  Sonata  for  Horn — Steihelt  Con- 
founded— E.  A.  Forster  and  the  First  Quartets — The 
Septet  and  First  Symphony — Beethoven's  Homes — 
Hoffmeister — Compositions  and  PubHcations  of  ISOO. 

IT  is  not  easy  to  conceive  upon  what  ground  the  opinion 
became  current,  as  it  did,  that  Beethoven  in  the  year  ISOO  and 

for  several  years  to  come  was  still  burdened  witli  t]ie  support  of 
his  brothers — young  men  now  respectively  in  their  !2Gth  and  "-i^tli 
years.  This  mistake  as  to  Johann  has  already  been  exposed. 
Leaving  Ludwig  for  the  first  quarter  of  this  year  donbly  busy — 
having,  in  addition  to  his  usual  occupations,  his  preparations  to 
make  for  a  grand  concert  in  April — we  turn,  for  a  page,  to  his 
brother  Carl. 

In  the  "Hof-  und  Staats-Schematisnuis"  for  tlu*  year  IS(M), 
at  the  end  of  the  list  of  persons  employed  in  the  "K.  K.  rniversal- 
Staatschuldenkasse"  are  the  names  of  two  "Praktikanten";  tlie 
first  is  "Mr.  Carl  v.  Beethoven  lives  in  the  Sterngasse,  4Si." 
In  the  same  publication  a|)j)ears  a  new  department  or  bureau 
of  the  above-named  office  called  tlie  "K.  K.  n.  (ist.  Klas.sen-Sf<Mirr- 
Kasse"  and  the  second  of  the  tliree  bureau  officers  is  "Mr.  Carl  v. 
Beethoven  lives  unterm  'J'uchladen,  (l(h>." 

It  is  not  improbable;  tiiat,  while  siini)ly  "Prakt  ikaiit."  lie 
may  have  needed  occasional  pecuniary  aid,  but  liis  |)rrf(rni('nt 
to  the  place  of  "Kassa-Officier"  rendered  him  independent.  TJ>i.s 
appointment  is  dated  March  24th,  IHOO,  and  gave  Jiim  a  salary 
of  2.30  florins.  Small  as  the  sum  now  appears,  it  was  amply 
sufficient,  with  what  he  could  earn  by  teaching  music  (and  the 
brother  of  the  great  Beetiioven  ct)uld  liave  no  lack  <)f  pupils', 
to  enable  him  to  live  comfortably.  In  fact,  he  was  b.-ttrr  <»IT 
than  many  a  colleague  in  tlu'  public  s<Tvice,  wlio  still  wifli  <are 
and  economy  managed  to  live  resfx-ctably.  It  may  therefore 
be  confidently  asserted  that  Beetiioven  was  henccfortJj  relieved 


2GG  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

of  all  care  on  account  of  Carl,  as  of  Johann,  until  the  bankruptcy 
of  the  government  and  Carl's  broken  health  many  years  later, 
made  fraternal  assistance  indispensable. 

At  the  beginning  of  this  year  Carl  had  tried  his  fortune  as  a 
composer — but  probably  with  slender  profit,  since  no  second 
venture  has  been  discovered.  Six  minuets,  six  "Deutsche"  and 
six  contradances  by  him  are  advertised  in  the  "Wiener  Zeitung" 
of  January  11,  in  double  editions,  one  for  clavier  and  one  for 
two  violins  and  violoncello.  The  concert  for  which  Beethoven 
had  been  preparing  during  the  winter  took  place  on  the  2d  of 
April.  It  was  his  first  public  appearance  for  his  own  benefit  in 
Vienna,  and,  so  far  as  is  known,  anywhere  except  in  Prague. 
All  that  is  now  to  be  ascertained  in  relation  to  it  is  contained  in 
the  advertisement,  in  the  programme,  and  in  a  single  notice, 
sent  to  the  "Allgemeine  Musikalische  Zeitung."  The  programme, 
which  was  in  the  possession  of  Madame  van  Beethoven  (widow 
of  the  composer's  nephew)  is  as  follows: 

To-day,  Wednesday,  April  2nd,  1800,  Herr  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 
will  have  the  honor  to  give  a  grand  concert  for  his  benefit  in  the  Royal 
Imperial  Court  Theatre  beside  the  Burg.  The  pieces  which  will  be 
performed  are  the  following: 

1.  A  grand  symphony  by  the  late  Chapelmaster  Mozart. 

2.  An  aria  from  "The  Creation"  by  the  Princely  Chapelmaster  Herr 
Haydn,  sung  by  Mile.  Saal. 

3.  A  grand  Concerto  for  the  Pianoforte,  played  and  composed  by  Herr 
Ludwig  van  Beethoven. 

4.  A  Septet,  most  humbly  and  obediently  dedicated  to  Her  Majesty 
the  Empress,  and  composed  by  Herr  Ludwig  van  Beethoven  for  four 
stringed  and  three  wind-instruments,  played  by  Messrs.  Schuppan- 
zigh,  Schreiber,  Schindlecker,  Bar,  Nickel,  Matauschek  and  Dietzel. 

5.  A  Duet  from  Haydn's  "Creation,"  sung  by  Mr.  and  Mile.  Saal. 

6.  Herr  Ludwig  van  Beethoven  will  improvise  on  the  pianoforte. 

7.  A  new  grand  symphony  with  complete  orchestra,  composed  by  Herr 
Ludwig  van  Beethoven. 


Tickets  for  boxes  and  stalls  are  to  be  had  of  Herr  van  Beethoven  at 
his  lodgings  in  the  Tiefen  Graben,  No.  241,  third  storey,  and  of  the 
box-keeper. 


Prices  of  admission  are  as  usual. 


The  beginning  is  at  half-past  6  o'clock. 


A  Public  Concert  with  Punto  267 

The  correspondent  of  the  "Allgemeine  MusikaHsche  Zeitung" 
described  the  concert  as  the  most  interesting  affair  of  its  kind 
given  for  a  long  time,  said  the  new  concerto  had  "many  beauties, 
especially  in  the  first  two  movements,"  praised  the  "taste  and 
feeling"  exhibited  in  the  Septet,  and  in  the  Symphony  found 
"much  art,  novelty  and  wealth  of  ideas";  but,  he  continues: 
"unfortunately  there  was  too  much  use  of  the  wind-instruments, 
so  that  the  music  sounded  more  as  if  written  for  a  military  band 
than  an  orchestra."  The  rest  of  the  notice  is  devoted  to  scolding 
the  band  for  inattention  to  the  conductor.  Which  of  the  piano- 
forte Concertos  Beethoven  played  on  this  occasion  is  nowhere 
intimated.  The  Symphony  in  C  soon  became  known  throughout 
Germany;  while  the  Septet  achieved  a  sudden  popularity  so 
widely  extended  and  enduring  as  at  length  to  become  an  annoy- 
ance to  the  composer.  ^ 

Before  the  month  was  out  Beethoven  again  played  in  public 
in  a  concert  given  by  Johann  Stich,  known  as  Punto.  This 
Bohemian  virtuoso,  after  several  years  of  wandering,  had  lately 
come  to  Vienna  from  Paris,  via  Munich.  As  a  performer  upon 
the  horn  he  was  unrivalled  by  any  predecessor  or  contemporary; 
but  as  a  composer  he  was  beneath  criticism.  Beethoven's  delight 
in  any  one  whose  skill  afforded  him  new  experience  of  the  powers 
and  possible  effects  of  any  orchestral  instrument  is  known  to  the 
reader.  Nothing  more  natural,  therefore,  than  his  readiness  to 
compose  a  sonata  for  himself  and  Punto  to  be  played  at  the 
latter's  concert  on  April  18th.  Ries  informs  us  that  "though  the 
concert  was  announced  with  the  Sonata  the  latter  was  not  yet 
begun.  Beethoven  began  the  work  the  day  before  the  perform- 
ance and  it  was  ready  for  the  concert."  His  habit  of  merely 
sketching  his  own  part  and  of  trusting  to  his  memory  and  the 
inspiration  of  the  moment,  even  when  producing  his  grand  Con- 
certos in  public,  probably  rendered  him  good  service  on  this  occa- 
sion. The  "Allgemeine  Musikzeitung"  (III,  704)  preserves  also 
the  interesting  fact  tliat  owing  to  the  enthusiastic  applause  the 
Sonata  was  immediately  repeated. 

April  27th  was  the  anniversary  of  the  day  on  wjiicli 
Maxiniilinn  PVanz  entered  Bonn  to  assume  the  <lnties  of  Elector 
and  Ar(Jil)is]i()i).  Sixteen  years  had  i)assed  and  on  this  day  he, 
with  a  small  retinue,  again  entered  Vienna.  II(^  took  refnge  "in 
an  Esterhazy   villa  in  a  suburb,"  while  the  small  cJiateau  near 

•"IIo  could  not  rnfliiro  liis  Sopfot  nnd  prcw  nnpry  boraiisf  of  iho  iinivrrsa!  npplansc 
with  whifh  it  was  receivL-d."  (Czcrny  to  Jahn.)  "Tb<;  tbt-me  of  the  variali«»u.s  is  buid 
to  be  a  Rhenish  folksong."   (Ibid.) 


268  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

which  now  stands  the  railway  station  at  Hetzendorf,  behind 
Schonbrunn  Garden,  was  preparing  for  his  residence;  whither  he 
soon  removed,  and  where  for  the  present  we  leave  him. 

At  the  end  of  February  or  early  in  March,  the  charlatan 
Daniel  Steibelt  gave  a  concert  in  Prague  which  brought  him  in 
1800  florins,  and  in  April  or  May,  "having  finished  his  speculation, 
he  went  to  Vienna,  his  purse  filled  with  ducats,  where  he  was 
knocked  in  the  head  by  the  pianist  Beethoven,"  says  Tomaschek. 
Ries  relates  how: 

When  Steibelt  came  to  Vienna  with  his  great  name,  some  of  Beet- 
hoven's friends  grew  alarmed  lest  he  do  injury  to  the  latter's  reputation. 
Steibelt  did  not  visit  him;  they  met  first  time  one  evening  at  the  house 
of  Count  Fries,  where  Beethoven  produced  his  new  Trio  in  B-flat  major 
for  Pianoforte,  Clarinet  and  Violoncello  (Op.  11),  for  the  first  time.^ 
There  is  no  opportunity  for  particular  display  on  the  part  of  the  pianist 
in  this  Trio.  Steibelt  listened  to  it  with  a  sort  of  condescension,  uttered 
a  few  compliments  to  Beethoven  and  felt  sure  of  his  victory.  He  played 
a  Quintet  of  his  own  composition,  improvised,  and  made  a  good  deal  of 
effect  with  his  tremolos,  which  were  then  something  entirely  new.  Beet- 
hoven could  not  be  induced  to  play  again.  A  week  later  there  was 
again  a  concert  at  Count  Fries's;  Steibelt  again  played  a  quintet  which 
had  a  good  deal  of  success.  He  also  played  an  improvisation  (which 
had,  obviously,  been  carefully  prepared)  and  chose  the  same  theme  on 
which  Beethoven  had  written  variations  in  his  Trio.^  This  incensed 
the  admirers  of  Beethoven  and  him;  he  had  to  go  to  the  pianoforte  and 
improvise.  He  went  in  his  usual  (I  might  say,  ill-bred)  manner  to 
the  instrument  as  if  half-pushed,  picked  up  the  violoncello  part  of 
Steibelt's  quintet  in  passing,  placed  it  (intentionally.'')  upon  the  stand 
upside  down  and  with  one  finger  drummed  a  theme  out  of  the  first  few 
measures.  Insulted  and  angered  he  improvised  in  such  a  manner  that 
Steibelt  left  the  room  before  he  finished,  would  never  again  meet  him 
and,  indeed,  made  it  a  condition  that  Beethoven  should  not  be  invited 
before  accepting  an  offer. 

It  was,  and  still  is,  the  custom  at  Vienna  for  all  whose  voca- 
tions and  pecuniary  circumstances  render  it  possible,  to  spend 
all  or  some  portion  of  the  summer  months  in  the  country. 
The  aristocracies  of  birth  and  wealth  retire  to  their  country-seats, 
live  in  villas  for  the  season  or  join  the  throngs  at  the  great  water- 
ing-places; other  classes  find  refuge  in  the  villages  and  hamlets 
which  abound  in  the  lovely  environs  of  the  city,  where  many  a 
neat  cottage  is  built  for  their  use  and  where  the  peasants  generally 
have  a  spare  room  or  two,  cleanly  kept  and  neatly  furnished. 
Beethoven's  habit  of  escaping  from  town  during  the  hot  months 

^This  is,  of  course,  an  error,  as  the  Trio  had  been  before  the  public  since  October 
3rd. 1798. 

'From  Weigl's  "Corsair  aus  Liebe." 


Various  Dwelling  Pl.\ces  in  Vienna  269 

was,  therefore,  nothing  peculiar  to  him.  We  have  reached  the 
point  whence,  with  little  if  any  interruption,  Beethoven  can  be 
followed  from  house  to  house,  in  city  and  country,  through  the 
rest  of  his  life;  a  matter  of  great  value  in  fixing  the  true  dates  of 
important  letters  and  determining  the  chronology  of  his  life  and 
works — but  for  the  first  seven  years  the  record  is  very  incomplete. 
Carl  Holz  told  Jahn:  "He  (Beethoven)  lived  at  first  in  a 
little  attic-room  in  the  house  of  the  book-binder  Strauss  in  the 
Alservorstadt,  where  he  had  a  miserable  time."  This  is  one 
of  the  facts  which  an  inquisitive  young  man  like  Holz  would 
naturally  learn  of  the  master  during  the  short  period  when  he 
was  his  factotum.  This  attic-room  must  have  been  soon  changed 
for  the  room  "on  the  ground-floor"  mentioned  in  a  previous 
chapter.  An  undated  note  of  van  Swieten  is  directed  to  Beet- 
hoven at  "No.  45  Alsergasse,  at  Prince  Lichnowsky's" ;  but  in  the 
Vienna  directory  for  1804  no  street  is  so  named,  and  the  only 
number  45  in  the  "Alsergrund"  is  in  the  Lammelgasse,  property  of 
Georg  Musial;  but  Prince  Josef  Lichnowsky  is  named  as  owner 
of  No.  125  in  the  Hauptstrasse  of  that  suburb.  This  was  the 
same  house;  it  had  merely  changed  numbers.  The  site  is  now 
occupied  by  the  house  No.  30  Alserstrasse.  Thence  Beethoven 
went  as  a  guest  to  the  house  occupied  by  Prince  Lichnowsky. 
In  May,  1795,  Beethoven,  in  advertising  the  Trios,  Op.  1,  gives 
the  "residence  of  the  author"  as  the  "Ogylisches  Haus  in  the  Kreuz- 
gasse  behind  the  Minorite  church.  No.  35  in  the  first  storey"; 
but  that  is  no  reason  to  think  that  Prince  Lichnowsky  then  lived 
there.  Where  Beethoven  was  during  the  next  few  years  has  not 
been  ascertained,  but,  as  has  been  seen  by  the  concert  bill  on  a 
preceding  page,  he  was  during  the  winter  of  1799-1800  in  the 
Tiefen  Graben  "in  a  very  high  and  narrow  house,"  as  Czerny 
wrote  to  F.  Luib.^  For  the  summer  of  1800,  he  took  quarters 
for  himself  and  servant  in  one  of  those  houses  in  Unter-D(3bling, 
an  hour's  walk,  perhaps,  from  town,  to  which  the  readiest  access 
is  by  tiie  bridge  over  the  Ijrook  on  tJie  North  side  of  tJic  D»)l)ling 
hospital  for  tlie  insane.  The  wife  of  a  distinguisjied  Vienna 
advocate  occupied  with  her  children  another  part  of  the  same 

'Acrordinj?  to  Frirnrnel,  "Rcr-lhovcn's  WoIiniing<ni,"  Vienna  "None  Frcio  Prcsso," 
August  11,  18I>!>,  this  house  was  that  of  Court  Couuciilor  (Jrcin<T.  then  No.  i^tl.  after- 
wards 23.5,  now  No.  10  in  the  Tiefen  Graben  which,  sli^jhlly  altered,  still  rernnins.  On 
the  stren^^th  of  Gzerny's  statement  that  one  had  to  look  up  to  the  fifth  f)r  sixth  storey 
to  see  Heethoven,  and  the  old  report  that  Heelhoven  lived  "in  the  Kleine  Weintraniie," 
Frimmel  was  lerl  to  think  that  possihly  he  lived  in  one  of  t  he  houses  on  the  hi^dier  f,'round 
behind  the  Greiner  house  to  whieh  there  was  access  from  \.\tr.  open  place  "Am  llof" 
as  well  as  from  the  houses  in  the  Tiefen  Graben  and  the  Greiner  hou.se.  The  houses 
which  bore  the  sign  "Zur  Weintraube"  were  situated  "am  Hofe." 


270  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

house.  One  of  these  children  was  Grillparzer,  afterward  famous 
as  a  poet.  The  zeal  with  which  Beethoven  at  this  period  labored 
to  perfect  his  pianoforte  playing,  and  his  dislike  to  being  listened 
to,  have  been  already  noted.  Madame  Grillparzer  was  a  lady  of 
fine  taste  and  culture,  fond  of  music  and  therefore  able  to  appre- 
ciate the  skill  of  her  fellow-lodger,  but  ignorant  of  his  aversion 
to  listeners.  Her  son,  in  1861,  still  remembered  Beethoven's 
incessant  practice  and  his  mother's  habit  of  standing  outside  her 
own  door  to  enjoy  his  playing.  This  continued  for  some  time; 
but  one  day  Beethoven  sprang  from  the  instrument  to  the  door, 
opened  it,  looked  out  to  see  if  any  one  was  listening,  and  unfor- 
tunately discovered  the  lady.  From  that  moment  he  played  no 
more.  Madame  Grillparzer,  thus  made  aware  of  his  sensitiveness 
on  this  point,  informed  him  through  his  servant  that  thence- 
forth her  door  into  the  common  passageway  should  be  kept 
locked,  and  she  and  her  family  would  solely  use  another.  It 
was  of  no  avail;  Beethoven  played  no  more. 

Another  authentic  and  characteristic  anecdote  can  belong 
only  to  this  summer.  There  lived  in  a  house  hard  by  a  peasant 
of  no  very  good  reputation,  who  had  a  daughter  remarkably 
beautiful,  but  also  not  of  the  best  fame.  Beethoven  was  greatly 
captivated  by  her  and  was  in  the  habit  of  stopping  to  gaze  at 
her  when  he  passed  by  where  she  was  at  work  in  farmyard  or 
field.  She,  however,  made  no  return  of  his  evident  liking  and 
only  laughed  at  his  admiration.  On  one  occasion  the  father  was 
arrested  for  engaging  in  a  brawl  and  iinprisoned.  Beethoven  took 
the  man's  part  and  went  to  the  magistrates  to  obtain  his  release. 
Not  succeeding,  he  became  angry  and  abusive,  and  in  the  end 
would  have  been  arrested  for  his  impertinence  but  for  the  strong 
representations  made  by  some,  who  knew  him,  of  his  position  in 
society  and  of  the  high  rank,  influence  and  power  of  his  friends. 

Throughout  this  period  of  Beethoven's  life,  each  summer  is 
distinguished  by  some  noble  composition,  completed,  or  nearly 
so,  so  that  on  his  return  to  the  city  it  was  ready  for  revision  and 
his  copyist.  Free  from  the  demands  of  society,  his  time  was  his 
own;  his  fancy  was  quickened,  his  inspiration  strengthened,  in 
field  and  forest  labor  was  a  delight.  The  most  important  work 
of  the  master  bears  in  his  own  hand  the  date,  1800,  and  may 
reasonably  be  supposed  to  have  been  the  labor  of  this  summer. 
It  is  the  Concerto  in  C  minor  for  Pianoforte  and  Orchestra,  Op.  37. 

At  the  approach  of  autumn  Beethoven  returned  to  his  old 
quarters  in  the  Tiefen  Graben.  In  this  year  Krumpholz  introduced 
to  him  Johann  Emanuel  (possibly  Johann  Nepomuk  Emanuel) 


DOLEZALEK   AND    HOFFMEISTER  271 

Dolezalek,  a  young  man  of  20  years,  born  in  Chotieborz  in  Bo- 
hemia, who  had  come  to  Vienna  to  take  lessons  from  Albrechts- 
berger.  He  played  the  pianoforte  and  violoncello,  was  a  capable 
musician,  in  his  youth  a  rather  popular  composer  of  Bohemian 
songs  and  then,  for  half  a  century,  one  of  the  best  teachers  in 
the  capital.  Toward  the  close  of  his  life  he  was  frequently 
occupied  with  the  arrangement  of  private  concerts,  chiefly  quartet 
parties,  for  Prince  Czartoryski  and  other  prominent  persons.  As 
long  as  he  lived  he  was  an  enthusiastic  admirer  of  Beethoven,  and 
enjoyed  the  friendship  of  the  composer  till  his  death.  Among 
his  observations  are  the  statements  concerning  the  hatred  of 
Beethoven  felt  by  the  Vienna  musicians  already  noted.  Kozeluch, 
he  relates,  threw  the  C  minor  Trio  at  his  (Dolezalek's)  feet  when 
the  latter  played  it  to  him.  Speaking  of  Beethoven,  Kozeluch 
said  to  Haydn:  "We  would  have  done  that  differently,  wouldn't 
we,  Papa?"  and  Haydn  answered,  smilingly,  *'Yes,  we  would 
have  done  that  differently."  Haydn,  says  Dolezalek,  could  not 
quite  reconcile  himself  with  Beethoven's  music.  It  was  Dolezalek 
who  witnessed  the  oft-told  scene  in  the  Swan  tavern  when  Beet- 
hoven insisted  on  paying  without  having  eaten. 

One  of  the  most  prolific  and  popular  composers  whom  Beet- 
hoven found  in  Vienna  was  Franz  Anton  Hoffmeister,  "Chapel- 
master  and  R.  I.  licensed  Music,  Art  and  Book  Seller."  He  was 
an  immigrant  from  the  Neckar  valley  and  (born  1754)  much 
older  than  Beethoven,  to  whom  he  had  extended  a  warm  sympathy 
and  friendship,  doubly  valuable  from  his  somewhat  similar  ex- 
perience as  a  young  student  in  Vienna.  This  is  evident  from  the 
whole  tone  of  their  correspondence.  In  1800,  Hoffmeister  left 
Vienna  and  in  Leipzig  formed  a  copartnership  with  Ambrosius 
Kiihnel,  organist  of  the  Electoral  Saxon  Court  Chapel,  and  estab- 
lished a  publishing  house  there,  still  retaining  his  business  in 
Vienna.  As  late  as  December  5,  1800,  his  signature  is  as  al)Ove 
given;  but  on  the  1st  of  January,  1801,  the  advertisements  in 
the  public  press  announce  the  firm  of  "Hoffmeister  and  Kiihnel, 
Bureau  de  Musique  in  Leipzig."  Since  1814  the  firm  name  has 
been  C.  F.  Peters.  Knowing  Beethoven  personally  and  so  inti- 
mately, it  is  alike  creditable  to  the  talents  of  the  one  and  the 
taste  and  ai)f)reciation  of  the  other  that  Hoffmeister,  immedi- 
ately upon  organizing  his  new  ])ublishing  liouse,  shonld  have 
asked  him  for  niarnis(rii)ts.  To  liis  letter  he  received  an  answer 
dated  Dec.  1.5,  1800,  in  which  Beetiioven  says: 

....  Per  prima  you  must  know  that  I  am  very  sorry  that  you,  my 
dear  brother  iu  music,  did  not  curlier  let  me  know  something  (of  your 


27:2  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

doings)  so  that  I  might  have  marketed  my  quartets  with  you,  as  well  as 
many  other  pieces  which  I  have  sold,  but  if  Mr,  Brother  is  as  conscien- 
tious as  many  other  honest  engravers  who  grave  us  poor  composers  to 
death,  you  will  know  how  to  derive  profit  from  them  when  they  appear. 
I  will  now  set  forth  in  brief  what  Mr.  Brother  can  have  from  me.     I"" 
a  Septet  'per  il  Violino,  Viola,  Violoncello,  Contrahasso,  ClarineUo,  Corno, 
Fagotto — tutti  obligati.     (I   cannot   write   anything   not   obligato   for   I 
came  into  this  world  with  an  obligato  accompaniment.)     This  Septet 
has  pleased  greatly.     For  more  frequent  use  the  three  wind-instruments, 
namely  Fagotto,  Clarinetto  and  Corno  might  be  transcribed  for  another 
violin,  viola  and  violoncello.     11°  A  grand  Symphony  for  full  orchestra. 
111°  A  Concerto  for  pianoforte  which  I  do  not  claim  to  be  one  of  my 
best,  as  well  as  another  one  which  will  be  published  here  by  Mollo  (this 
for  the  information  of  the  Leipzig  critics)  because  I  am  for  the  present 
keeping  the  better  ones  for  myself  until  I  make  a  tour;  but  it  will  not 
disgrace  you  to  publish  it.     IV°  A  grand  Solo  Sonata.^     That   is   all 
that  I  can  give  you  at  this  moment.     A  little  later  you  may  have  a 
Quintet  for  stringed  instruments  as  well  as,  probably.  Quartets  and  other 
things  which  I  have  not  now  with  me.     In  your  reply  you  might  set  the 
prices  and  as  you  are  neither  a  Jew  nor  an  Italian,  nor  I  either  one  or 
the  other,  we  shall  no  doubt  come  to  an  understanding. 

The  reference  to  the  Quartets,  Op.  18,  in  this  letter,  taken  in 
connection  with  the  apologies  for  long  delay  in  writing,  indicates 
conclusively  enough  that  at  least  the  first  set,  the  first  three, 
had  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  Mollo  and  Co.  early  in  the  autumn, 
and  it  is  barely  possible,  not  probable,  that  they  had  already  been 
issued  from  the  press.-  The  importance  of  these  Quartets  in  the 
history  both  of  Beethoven  and  of  chamber  music  renders  very 
desirable  more  definite  information  upon  their  origin  and  dates 
of  composition  than  the  incomplete,  unsatisfactory  and  not  always 
harmonious  data  already  known,  afford.  The  original  manuscripts 
appear  to  have  been  lost. 

Von  Lenz  quotes  in  his  "Critical  Catalogue  of  Beethoven's 
Works"  an  anecdote  from  a  pamphlet  printed  at  Dorpat  in  which 
is  related: 

After  Beethoven  had  composed  his  well-known  String  Quartet  in 
F  major  he  played  for  his  friend  (Amenda)  (on  the  pianoforte?)  the 
glorious  Adagio  (D  minor,  9-8  time)  and  asked  him  what  thought 
had  been  awakened  by  it.    "It  pictured  for  me  the  parting  of  two  lovers," 

»In  B-flat,  Op.  22. 

'The  Pianoforte  Concerto  offered  to  Hoffmeister  was  that  in  B-flat.  It  was  pub- 
lished by  Hoffmeister  and  Kiihnel  toward  the  end  of  1801  and  advertised  on  January 
16,  1802.  The  Concerto  published  by  Mollo  was  that  in  C  major.  A  letter  written 
to  Breitkopf  and  Hartel  on  the  same  day  contains  the  equivalent  of  the  remark:  "I 
am  for  the  present  keeping  the  better  ones  for  myself  until  I  make  a  tour,"  which  is 
signi6cant,  since  it  makes  it  sure  that  other  concertos  were  at  least  planned  and  that 
the  one  in  C  minor  was  looked  upon  as  finished  by  Beethoven. 


The  First  String  Quartets  273 

was  the  answer.     "Good!"  remarked  Beethoven,  "I  thought  of  the  scene 
in  the  burial  vault  in  'Romeo  and  Juliet'." 

This  Quartet  existed,  then,  before  Amenda  left  Vienna.  Czerny 
says  in  his  notes  for  Jahn:  "Of  the  first  six  Violin  Quartets  that 
in  D  major,  No.  3  in  print,  was  the  very  first  composed  by  Beet- 
hoven. On  the  advice  of  Schuppanzigh  he  called  that  in  F  major 
No.  1,  although  it  was  composed  later."  Ries  confirms  this:  "Of 
his  Violin  Quartets,  Op.  18,  he  composed  that  in  D  major  first  of 
all.  That  in  F  major,  which  now  precedes  it,  was  originally  the 
third."  ''■  Nota  bene  that  neither  Czerny  nor  Ries  spoke  from  personal 
observation  at  the  time  of  composition;  they  must  both  have 
learned  the  fact  from  Beethoven  himself,  or,  more  probably,  from 
dates  on  the  original  manuscripts.  A  criticism  of  three  quartets 
which  appeared  in  the  "Allg.  Mus.  Zeitung"  in  1799,  which  failed 
to  give  the  name  of  the  composer,  has  been  applied  by  some  writers 
(by  Langhans  in  his  History  of  Music,  for  instance)  to  Beethoven's 
Op.  18;  but  erroneously.  They  were  the  works  of  Emanuel  Aloys 
Forster  (born  January  26,  1748,  in  Neurath,  Upper  Silesia,  died 
November  12,  1823,  in  Vienna),  a  musician  who  w^as  so  highly 
esteemed  by  Beethoven  that,  on  one  occasion  at  least,  he  called 
him  his  "old  master."  The  phrase  can  easily  be  interpreted  to 
mean  that  Beethoven  found  instruction  in  Forster's  chamber 
music  w^hich  he  heard  at  the  soirees  of  Prince  Lichnowsky  and 
other  art-patrons.  Forster's  compositions,  not  many  of  which 
have  been  preserved  in  print,  are  decidedly  Beethovenish  in  char- 
acter. His  eldest  son,  who  in  1870  w^as  still  living  in  Trieste, 
remembered  Beethoven  perfectly  w^ell  from  1803  to  1813,  and 
communicated  to  the  author  of  this  biography  some  reminiscences 
well  worth  preserving.  It  is  known  from  other  sources  tJuit  Beet- 
hoven, after  the  retirement  of  All)rechtsl)erger,  considered  Forster 
to  be  the  first  of  all  the  Vienna  teachers  of  counterpoint  and 
composition,  and  this  is  confirmed  by  the  son's  statement  that  it 
was  on  Beethoven's  advice  that  he  sent  to  press  the  C()m])endious 
"Anleitung  zum  Generalbass"  which  Breitkopf  and  Hiirtel  pub- 
lished in  1805.  A  year  or  two  later.  Count  Rasoumowsky  applied 
to  Beethoven  for  instruction  in  musical  theory  and  especially  in 
quartet  com|)o,sition.  IJcetlioven  absolutely  refused,  but  so 
strongly  recommended  liis  friend  Forster,  that  the  latter  was  en- 
gaged. Forster's  dwelling  in  all  those  years  was  a  favorite  resort 
of  the  princii)al  composers  and  dilettanti.  'J'hither  came  Beet- 
hoven; Zmeskall,  a  very  precise  gentleman  with  abundant  wdiite 

'In  reality  it  was  the  sccoud,  as  the  Amenda  parts  show. 


274  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

hair;  Schuppanzigli,  a  short  fat  man  with  a  huge  belly;  Weiss, 
tall  and  thin;  Linke,  the  lame  violoncellist,  Henry  Eppinger,  the 
Jewish  violin  dilettante,  the  youthful  Mayseder,  J.  N.  Hummel, 
and  others.  The  regular  periods  of  these  quartet  meetings  were 
Sunday  at  noon,  and  the  evening  of  Thursday;  but  Beethoven 
in  those  years  often  spent  other  evenings  with  Forster,  "when  the 
conversation  usually  turned  upon  musical  theory  and  composi- 
tion." Notwithstanding  the  wide  difference  in  their  ages  (22  years), 
their  friendship  was  cordial  and  sincere.  The  elder  not  only 
appreciated  and  admired  the  genius  of  the  younger,  but  honored 
him  as  a  man ;  and  spoke  of  him  as  being  not  only  a  great  musical 
composer,  but,  however  at  times  rough  in  manner  and  harsh,  even 
rude,  in  speech,  of  a  most  honorable  and  noble  nature.  Add 
to  all  this  the  fact,  that  Beethoven  in  later  years  recommended 
Forster  to  pupils  as  his  own  "old  master,"  and  it  is  no  forced  and 
unnatural  inference,  that  he  (Beethoven)  had  studied  quartet  com- 
position with  him,  as  he  had  counterpoint  with  Albrechtsberger, 
and  operatic  writing  with  Salieri.  Nor  is  this  inference  weakened 
— it  is  rather  strengthened — by  some  points  in  what  now  follows: 

The  earliest  mention  of  a  string  quartet  in  connection  with 
Beethoven  is  that  proposal  by  Count  Appony  cited  from  Wegeler 
which  led  to  no  instant  result.  Then  comes  a  passage  from  a 
letter  to  Amenda:  "Do  not  give  your  Quartet  to  anybody,  because 
I  have  greatly  changed  it,  having  learned  how  to  write  quartets 
properly."     Had  he  learned  from  study  under  Forster.'* 

The  original  manuscripts  being  lost,  further  chronological 
notices  concerning  them  must  be  sought  for  in  the  sketchbooks. 
Here  Nottebohm  comes  to  our  assistance.  In  the  Fetter  collec- 
tion at  Vienna  there  are  sketches  for  the  last  movement  of  the 
G  major  Quartet,  the  last  movement  of  the  B-flat  Quartet  (among 
them  one  which  was  discarded),  both  deviating  from  the  printed 
form  more  or  less,  and  one  for  the  last  movement  of  the  F  major 
Quartet,  this  approaching  pretty  closely  the  ultimate  form;  thus 
this  quartet  was  farther  advanced  than  the  others.  Associated 
with  this  sketch  are  sketches  for  the  Sonata  in  B-flat,  Op.  22,  and 
for  the  easy  Variations  in  G  major  which  were  begun  while  work 
was  in  progress  on  the  last  movement  of  the  Quartet  in  G.  Beet- 
hoven worked  simultaneously  on  the  first  movement  of  Op.  22 
and  the  scherzo  of  the  first  Quartet;  while  working  on  the  last 
movement  of  the  Quartet  in  B-flat  the  rondo  of  the  Sonata  was 
begun.  The  sketches  date  from  1799  and  1800.  Inasmuch  as 
they  occur  before  those  for  the  Horn  Sonata,  which  was  composed 
very  hurriedly  and  performed  on  April   18,   1800,  the  sketches 


Sketches  for  the  First  Quartets  275 

were   doubtless   written   earlier.     One  of   the   variations   of   the 
Quartet  in  A  major  was  sketched  much  earlier — in  1794  or  1795. 
A  little  sketch  for  the  first  movement  of  the  F  major  Quartet  found 
beside  sketches  for  the  Violin  Sonata,  Op.  24,  no  doubt  belongs 
to  the  revised  form  of  the  Quartet.     In  a  sketchbook  formerly 
in  the  possession  of  Grassnick  in  Berlin,  there  are  sketches  for 
the  Quartet  in  D  major  which  are  near  the  ultimate  form,  except 
that  there  is  a  different  theme  for   the  last  movement.     Then 
comes  a  beginning  in  G  major  inscribed  "Quartet  2,"  the  germ  of 
the  theme  of  the  second  Quartet.     There  was,  therefore,  at  the 
time  no  secx)nd  Quartet,  and  that  in  D  is  the  first.    There  follows 
"Der  Kuss,"  sketches  for  the  "Opferlied,"  the  Rondo  in  G  major, 
Op.  51,  No.  2,  to  a  passage  from  Schiller's  "Ode  to  Joy,"  to  Gellert's 
"Meine  Lebenszeit  verstreicht,"  in  G  minor,  to  an  intermezzo  for 
pianoforte,  to  the  revised  form  of  the  B-flat  Concerto  (which  he 
played  in  Prague  in  1798),  and  to  various  songs.     The  indications 
are,   therefore,  that  the  sketches  were  written  in   1798.     Then 
come  sketches  for  the  variations  on  "La  stessa,  la  stessissima," 
which  originated  and  were  published  in  the  beginning  of  1799,  and 
after  them  extended  sketches  for  the  first  movement  of  the  F 
major  Quartet,  of  which  those  belonging  to  the  first  movement  are 
in  an  advanced  stage,  those  for  the  second  movement  less  so.     A 
few  sketches  for  a  "third"  quartet  (thus  specified)  which  were 
not  used  show  that  there  was  no  third  at  the  time;  therefore,  the 
Quartet  in  F  is  the  second  and  was  planned  in  1799.     Another 
sketchbook  contains  the  continuation  of  the  sketches  for  the  F 
major  Quartet,  and,  indeed,  for  all  the  movements;  then  an  unused 
sketch  for  a  "third"  quartet  (still  not  yet  in  existence),  then  to  two 
songs  by  Goethe  (one  "Ich  denke  dein"),  then  to  the  movements 
of  the  G  major  Quartet,  which  is  thus  indicated  to  have  been  the 
third   (the    intermezzo    in  the   second   movement  was  conceived 
later),  further  sketches  for  the  A  major  Quartet,  which,  it  follows, 
was  the  fourth.     Among  these  sketches  are  others  for  the  Septet 
and   the  \'ariations  on  "Kind,  willst  du  ruhig  schlafen?"  which 
a[>peared  in  December  in  1799,  and  was  therefore  not  com[)osed 
earlier.     All   these  sketches  date  from   1798  and    1799;  but  the 
Quartets  were  not  finished.     In  an  unused  sketch  for  the  Adagio 
of  the  quartet  in  F  occur  the  words:  "Les  derniers  soupirs,"  which 
confirm  the  story  told  by  Amendu.     The  continuation  of  the  G 
major  Quartet  dates  to   1800.     Up  to  now  no  sketches  for  the 
Quartet  in  C  minor  liave  been  found. 

The  results  of  this  chronological  investigation  may  be  summed 
up   as  follows:  The  com{)osition  of  the  Quartets   was  begun   in 


276  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

1798,  that  in  D,  the  third,  being  first  undertaken.  This  was 
followed  by  that  in  F  and  soon  after,  or  simultaneously,  work  was 
begun  on  that  in  G,  which  was  originally  designed  as  the  second; 
but,  as  that  in  F  was  completed  earlier,  this  was  designated  as 
the  second  by  Beethoven,  and  that  in  G  became  in  point  of  time 
the  third.  The  Quartet  in  F  was  finished  in  its  original  shape  by 
June  25,  1799,  on  which  day  he  gave  it  to  Amenda;  he  revised 
it  later.  Whether  or  not  this  was  also  done  with  the  others  can- 
not be  said;  there  is  no  evidence.  The  remark  made  in  1801, 
that  he  had  just  learned  to  write  quartets,  need  not  be  read  as 
meaning  that  he  had  formal  instruction  from  Forster,  but  is 
amply  explained  by  his  practice  on  the  six  Quartets;  yet  Forster 
may  have  influenced  him  strongly.  He  then  wrote  the  one  in  A 
(now  No.  5),  intending  it  to  be  the  fourth;  in  this  he  seems  to 
have  made  use  of  a  motif  invented  at  an  earlier  period.  The 
Quartets  in  B-flat  and  C  minor  followed,  the  latter  being,  perhaps, 
the  last.  The  definitive  elaboration  of  the  Quartets  lasted  cer- 
tainly until  1800,  possibly  until  1801.  The  Quartets  then  appeared 
in  two  sets  from  the  press  of  Mollo.  It  is  likely  that  the  first  three, 
at  least,  were  in  the  hands  of  the  publisher  before  the  end  of  1800, 
as  is  proved  by  the  letter  to  Hoffmeister.  The  first  three  appeared 
in  the  summer  of  1801  and  were  advertised  as  on  sale  by  Nageli 
in  Zurich  already  in  July;  they  were  mentioned  in  the  "Allg. 
Musik.  Zeitung"  on  August  26,  and  in  Spazier's  "Zeitung  fiir  die 
Elegante  Welt."  In  October  of  the  same  year  the  last  three 
appeared  and  Mollo  advertised  them  in  the  "Wiener  Zeitung" 
of  October  28.  The  Quartets  are  dedicated  to  Prince  Lobkowitz. 
Notice  of  a  valuable  present  to  Beethoven  from  his  lenient 
and  generous  patron.  Prince  Carl  Lichnowsky,  naturally  con- 
nects itself  with  the  story  of  the  Quartets — a  gift  thus  described 
by  Alois  Fuchs,  formerly  violinist  in  the  Imperial  Court  Orchestra, 
under  date  of  December  2, 1846: 

Ludwig  van  Beethoven  owned  a  complete  quartet  of  excellent 
Italian  instruments  given  to  him  by  his  princely  patron  and  friend 
Liclinowsky  at  the  suggestion  of  the  famous  quartet-player  Schuppanzigh. 
I  am  in  a  position  to  describe  each  of  the  instruments  in  detail. 

1.  A  violin  made  by  Joseph  Guarnerius  in  Cremona  in  the  year 
1718  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Karl  Holz,  director  of  the  Concerts 
spirituels  in  Vienna. 

2.  The  second  violin  (which  was  offered  for  sale)  was  made  by 
Nicholas  Amati  in  the  year  1667,  and  was  in  the  possession  of  Dr.  Ohraeyer, 
who  died  recently  in  Hiitteldorf ;  it  has  been  purchased  by  Mr.  Huber. 

3.  The  viola,  made  by  Vincenzo  Ruger  in  1690,  is  also  the  property 
of  Mr.  Karl  Holz. 


Beethoven's  Quartet  of  Instruments  277 

4.  The  violoncello,  an  Andreas  Guarnerius  of  the  year  1712,  is 
in  the  possession  of  Mr.  P.  Wertheimber  of  Vienna. 

The  seal  of  Beethoven  has  been  impressed  under  the  neck  of  each 
instrument  and  on  the  back  of  each  Beethoven  scratched  a  big  B,  prob- 
ably for  the  purpose  of  protecting  himself  against  an  exchange.  The 
instruments  are  all  well  preserved  and  in  good  condition.  The  most 
valuable  one,  without  question,  is  the  violin  by  Joseph  Guarnerius,  which 
is  distinguished  by  extraordinary  power  of  tone,  for  which,  indeed,  Mr. 
Holz  has  refused  an  offer  of  1000  florins. 

The  four  instruments  were  bought  by  Peter  Th.  Jokits  in 
1861,  who  gave  them  to  the  Royal  Library  at  Berlin.  Beethoven 
received  them  from  Lichnowsky  certainly  before  1802,  but  in 
what  year  is  unknown.^  Another  proof  of  the  Prince's  regard 
and  generosity,  however,  belongs  to  this,  namely,  an  annuity  of 
COO  florins  to  be  continued  until  the  composer  should  find  some 
suitable  permanent  employment. 

* 

The  only  known  publication  of  the  year  1800  is  the  Rondo 
in  G  major.  Op.  51,  No.  2,  which  came  from  the  press  of  Simrock. 
As  for  the  compositions  of  the  year  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  Beet- 
hoven put  the  finishing  touches  to  the  first  Symphony,  the  Septet, 
Op.  20,  and  the  Quartets,  Op.  18.  Furthermore,  there  can  be 
little  doubt  but  that  the  Sonata  for  Horn,  Op.  17,  the  Pianoforte 
Sonata,  Op.  22,  the  Concerto  in  C  minor,  and  the  Variations  for 
Four  Hands  on  the  melody  of  the  song  "Ich  denke  dein,"  belong 
to  this  year.  The  "Variations  tres  faciles"  on  an  original  theme 
in  G  were  sketched  and  probably  completed.  The  only  chronolo- 
gical clues  to  the  Horn  Sonata  are  the  date  of  its  first  performance, 
April  18,  1800,  and  the  anecdote  by  Ries  concerning  tlie  rapid 
completion  of  the  work.  No  sketches  have  been  found  and  nothing 
is  known  of  the  autograph;  but  according  to  Nottebolim  the 
beginning  of  a  clean  copy  of  the  Adagio  is  to  be  found  among 
the  sketches  for  the  Sonatas  Op.  22  and  2.S.  Punto  was  still  in 
Munich  in  1800,  and  since  the  work  seems  assuredly  to  have 
been  designed  for  liim,  there  is  erpial  certainty  tliat  it  was  com- 
posed in  tliat  year.  It  was  i)ublished  by  Mollo  in  March,  1801. 
The  Septet,  for  four  strings  and  three  wind-instruments,  dedicated 

'IIol/,  solfl  tlu;  fluiirncriiis  violin  in  IS.Ii  (see  the  "AIlKcmcinc  Dciitsclio  Mu.sik- 
zeitung"  of  1888).  Wln-n  lli<;  BrrUiovon  MuHi'um  in  H<inn  was  diMliwilorl,  the  in- 
struments were  borrowed  from  the  authorities  of  the  Royiil  Library,  and  exhibited  in 
a  glass  case,  where  they  remain  by  sufTerance  of  the  Prussian  aulliorities. 


278  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

to  the  Empress  Maria  Theresia,  was  played  at  the  concert  at  which 
the  Symphony  in  C  major  was  brought  forward,  April  2,  1800; 
but  it  had  been  heard  previously  in  the  house  of  Prince  Schwarzen- 
berg.  Inasmuch  as  sketches  for  it  are  found  among  those  for 
the  Quartets,  specially  the  one  in  A  major,  which  belong  to  the 
year  1799,  its  inception  may  be  placed  in  that  year,  though  it 
was  probably  finished  in  1800  shortly  before  its  performance. 
There  is  no  date  on  the  autograph.  It  was  offered  to  Hoffmeister 
in  the  letter  of  December  15,  1800,  and  was  published  by  him  in 
1802.  The  Septet  speedily  won  great  popularity  and  was  fre- 
quently transcribed.  Hoffmeister  had  an  arrangement  for  string 
quintet  which  he  advertised  on  August  18,  1802.  Ries  thought 
that  Beethoven  had  made  it,  but  he  was  in  error;  nevertheless, 
Beethoven  gave  Hoffmeister  permission  to  publish  an  arrange- 
ment in  which  strings  were  substituted  for  the  wind-instruments, 
and  himself  transcribed  it  as  a  pianoforte  trio  with  violin  or 
clarinet  ad  lib.  This  arrangement  was  made  as  a  tribute  of  grati- 
tude from  the  composer  to  his  new  physician.  Dr.  Johann  Schmidt. 
The  doctor  played  the  violin  and  his  daughter  the  pianoforte, 
both  fairly  well,  and  Beethoven  arranged  his  popular  piece  for 
family  use  and,  as  was  customary  at  the  time,  gave  Dr.  Schmidt 
the  exclusive  possession  of  the  mtisic  for  a  year.^ 

.  The  theme  of  the  minuet  in  the  Septet  was  borrowed  from 
the  Pianoforte  Sonata,  Op.  49,  No.  2,  but  its  treatment  is  original. 
There  has  been  considerable  controversy  without  absolutely  defini- 
tive result  touching  the  melody  which  is  varied  in  the  Andante. 
Kretschmer,  in  his  "Deutsche  Volkslieder"  (BerHn,  1838;  Vol.  I, 
No.  102,  p.  181),  prints  the  melody  in  connection  with  a  Rhenish 
folksong  (  Ach  Schiffer,  lieber  Schiffer"),  and  there  is  a  tradition 
that  Czerny  said  that  it  was  taken  by  Beethoven  from  that 
source.  Nottebohm  offers  evidence  deserving  of  consideration 
that  the  melody  is  a  folktune;  but  Ries  and  Wegeler,  who  lived 
on  the  Rhine,  had  nothing  to  say  on  the  subject.  Erk  and  Bohme 
("Deutscher  Liederhort,"  Vol.  I,  p.  273)  publish  folksongs  dealing 
with  the  legend  which  is  at  the  base  of  "Ach  Schiffer,  lieber 
Schiffer,"  but  the  melody  of  the  Andante  is  not  to  be  found  among 
them,  and  Bohme  gives  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  song  printed 
by  Kretschmer  was  written  to  Beethoven's  melody  by  Kretsch- 
mer's  collaborator  Zuccalmaglio.  It  is  not  likely  that  the  melody, 
had  it  lived  in  the  mouths  of  the  people,  would  have  escaped  so 
industrious  a  collector  as  Erk,  who,  moreover,  was  a  native  of 

>See  the  dedication  in  Kalischer's  collection  of  Beethoven's  letters  translated  by 
J.  S.  Shedlock,  Vol.  I,  p.  94. 


Compositions  Sketched  in  1800  279 

the  Rhine  country.  The  evidence  would  seem  to  indicate  that 
the  melody  was  original  with  Beethoven. 

The  Pianoforte  Sonata  in  B-flat,  Op.  22,  also  belongs  to  this 
year,  as  appears  from  the  fact  that  it  was  offered  to  HofFmeister 
in  the  letter  of  December  15.  It  was  still  in  an  unfinished  state 
on  the  completion  of  the  Sonata  for  Horn,  as  is  shown  by  the 
circumstance  that  sketches  of  it  are  mingled  with  a  fair  transcript 
of  a  passage  from  the  latter  work.  There  are  also  sketches  for 
Op.  22,  among  those  for  the  Quartet  in  B-flat,  Op.  18,  No.  6,  and 
the  later  movements  of  the  Quartet  in  F — no  doubt  the  revision. 
The  sketches  therefore  belong  to  the  year  1800,  but  may  date 
back  to  1799,  from  which  it  would  appear  that  Beethoven  worked 
an  unusually  long  time  on  the  Sonata.  The  principal  labor  was 
performed  most  likely  in  the  summer  of  1800,  which  Beethoven 
spent  at  Unterdobling.  It  was  published  in  1802  by  Hoffmeister 
and  Kiihnel.  Sketches  from  the  "Six  Easy  Variations"  are  found 
amongst  some  for  the  last  movement  of  the  Quartet  in  G,  which 
seem  to  be  nearly  finished.  Again  we  can  fix  the  year  as  1799  or 
1800.  Of  special  importance  is  the  fact  that  the  theme  of  the 
Variations  is  the  same  as  the  first  episode  of  the  rondo  of  the 
Sonata  in  B-flat,  and  the  circumstance  that  the  sketches  are  of 
almost  the  same  date  indicates  that  the  identity  was  not  accidental. 
The  Variations  were  advertised  as  new  by  Traeg  on  December 
16, 1800. 

The  Variations  in  D  for  four  hands  on  the  melody  of  Goethe's 
poem,  "Ich  denke  dein,"  were  conceived  at  practically  the  same 
time  as  those  just  described.  Beethoven  at  first  intended  to 
give  each  stanza  a  separate  setting,  and  to  this  end  made  two 
sketches,  which  are  associated  with  the  Quartet  sketches  and 
belong  to  the  year  1799.  He  then  took  the  melody  of  the  first 
stanza  as  a  theme  for  variations  for  four  hands  in  the  same  year 
and  wrote  them  into  the  autograph  album  of  two  sisters,  the 
countesses  Therese  Brunswick  and  Josephine  Deym,  On  Septem- 
ber 22,  1803,  he  offered  them  to  Hoffmeister  in  the  place  of  tlie 
Trio  Variations,  Op.  44,  with  the  remark  that  he  considered  tJiem 
better  tJian  tJie  latter.  HotFmeister,  liowever,  |)ubHslied  tlie  Trio 
Variations  (in  1S()4).  The  Variations  in  D  were  not  publislied 
until  the  beginning  of  1S05,  and  were  described  as  having  been 
written  in  1800  for  the  two  countesses  mentioned,  and  dedicated 
to  them. 

An  autograph  preserv^ed  in  the  Royal  Library  in  Berlin 
contains  four  of  the  variations  on  'Teh  denke  dein,"  an  Adagio 
in  F  major  noted  on  four  staves  (three  with  treble,  one  with  the 


280  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

bass  clef),  a  Scherzo  in  G  major,  f  time,  and  an  Allegro  in  G 
major,  f.  Albert  Kopfermann,  who  published  the  Adagio  for 
the  first  time  in  No.  12,  Vol.  I,  of  "Die  Musik,"  considers,  no  doubt 
correctly,  that  the  three  compositions  were  written  for  an  auto- 
matic musical  instrument.  Though  the  number  of  new  compo- 
sitions produced  in  1800  was  small,  attention  must  be  directed 
to  the  fact  that  the  revision  and  completion  of  works  for  publi- 
cation, together  with  the  planning  of  new  works,  gave  a  deal  of 
occupation  to  Beethoven.  Amongst  the  compositions  made 
ready  for  the  printer  were  the  Quartets,  which  were  not  ready 
till  near  the  end  of  the  year.  To  them  must  be  added  the  Sonata 
in  E-flat,  Op.  27,  No.  1,  and  the  Concerto  in  C  minor,  the  auto- 
graph of  which  distinctly  bears  the  date  1800.  It  is  certain, 
moreover,  that  Beethoven  began  working  on  "Prometheus"  in 
this  year,  and  the  summer  must  have  been  a  busy  one  for  him. 


Chapter  XIX 


The  Year  1801 — Concerts  for  Wounded  Soldiers — Vigano 
and  the  Ballet  ''Prometheus" — Stephan  von  Breuning — 
Hetzendorf — "Christus  am  Olberg" — Compositions  and 
Publications  of  the  Year — The  Funeral  March  in  the 
Sonata,  Op.  26— The  "Moonlight"  Sonata— The  Quintet, 
Op.  29. 

THE  tone  of  Beethoven's  correspondence  and  the  many  proofs 
of  his  untiring  industry  during  the  winter  1800-1  and  early 
part  of  the  succeeding  spring,  suggest  a  mind  at  ease,  rejoic- 
ing in  the  exercise  of  its  powers,  and  a  body  glowing  with  vigorous 
health.  But  for  his  own  words  to  Wegeler:  "I  have  been  really 
miserable  this  winter,"  the  passing  allusions  to  ill  health  in  his 
replies  to  Hoffmeister's  letters  would  merely  impress  the  reader  as 
being  half-groundless  apologies  for  lack  of  punctuality  in  writing. 
This  chapter  will  exhibit  the  young  master  both  as  he  appeared  to 
the  public  and  as  he  showed  himself  in  confidential  intercourse 
to  the  few  in  whose  presence  he  put  aside  the  mask  and  laid  open 
his  heart;  and  will,  therefore,  it  is  believed,  be  found  fully  to 
justify  what  has  been  said  of  his  heroic  energy,  courage  and 
endurance  under  a  trouble  of  no  ordinary  nature. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  year  he  wrote  to  Hoffmeister^  as 
follows  under  date  "January  15  (or  thereabouts),  1801": 

....  Your  enterprises  delight  me  also  and  I  wish  that  if  works 
of  art  ever  bring  profit  that  it  might  go  to  real  artists  instead  of  mere 
shopkeepers. 

The  fact  that  you  i)iir[)Ose  to  publish  the  works  of  Sebastian  Bach 
does  good  to  my  heart  which  beats  only  for  the  lofty  and  magnificent 
art  of  this  patriarch  of  harmony,  and  I  hope  soon  to  see  them  in  vigorous 
sale.  I  hope,  as  s(X)n  as  golden  j)eac'e  has  been  declared,  to  be  helpful  in 
many  ways,  especially  if  you  offer  the  works  for  subscriptiou. 

'Beethoven's  carele.ssness  in  respect  of  dates,  or  a  eliararteristie  indiden-nre  to 
the  almanac,  as  exemplifierl  in  this  cJate-line,  plays  an  important  r6lc  in  one  of  the  most 
puzzling  questions  in  his  p<rrsonal  history,  namely,  tiie  identity  of  the  woman  whom 
in  the  famous  love-letters  he  called  "The  Immortal  Beloved." 

[  «811 


282  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

As  regards  our  real  business,  since  you  ask  it  I  meet  your  wishes 
by  offering  you  the  following  items:  Septet  (concerning  which  I  have 
already  written  you),  20  ducats;  Symphony,  20  ducats;  Grand  Solo 
Sonata — Allegro,  Adagio,  Minuetto,  Rondo — 20  ducats.  This  Sonata 
is  a  tidy  piece  of  work  (hat  sich  gewaschen),  my  dearest  Mr.  Brother. 

Now  for  an  explanation:  You  will  wonder,  perhaps,  that  I  have 
made  no  distinction  here  between  Sonata,  Septet  and  Symphony.  I 
have  done  this  because  I  have  learned  that  a  septet  or  symphony  has  a 
smaller  sale  than  a  sonata,  though  a  symphony  ought  unquestionably  to 
be  worth  more.  (N.  B.  The  Septet  consists  of  a  short  introductory  Adagio, 
then  Allegro,  Adagio,  Minuetto,  Andante  with  variations,  Minuetto  again, 
a  short  Adagio  introduction  and  then  Presto.)  I  put  the  price  of  the 
Concerto  at  only  10  ducats  because,  as  I  have  already  written,  I  do  not 
give  it  out  as  one  of  my  best.  I  do  not  think  the  amount  excessive  on 
the  whole;  I  have  tried,  at  least,  to  make  the  price  as  moderate  as  pos- 
sible for  you.  As  regards  the  bill  of  exchange  you  may,  since  you  leave 
the  matter  to  me,  issue  it  to  Geimiiller  or  Schiilleir.  The  whole  sum 
amounts  to  70  ducats  for  the  four  works.  I  do  not  understand  any 
money  except  Viennese  ducats;  how  many  thalers  in  gold  that  amounts 
to  does  not  concern  me,  I  being  a  really  bad  negotiator  and  mathematician. 

This  disposes  of  the  disagreeable  (saure)  business;  I  call  it  so 
because  I  wish  things  were  different  in  the  world.  There  ought  to  be 
only  one  art  warehouse  in  the  world  to  which  an  artist  would  only  need 
to  carry  his  art- works  to  take  away  with  him  whatever  he  needed;  as 
it  is  one  must  be  half  tradesman;  and  how  we  adjust  ourselves — good 
God! — that  is  what  I  again  call  disagreeable.  As  regards  the  L.  .  .  O. .  .  ,^ 
let  them  talk;  they  will  certainly  never  make  anybody  immortal  by 
their  twaddle,  and  as  little  will  they  rob  anybody  of  immortality  to 
whom  Apollo  has  decreed  it. 

The  next  letter  requires  a  word  of  introduction.  That  mili- 
tary campaign  which  included  the  disastrous  field  of  Hohenlinden 
(December  3,  1800),  had  filled  the  hospitals  at  Vienna,  and  among 
the  various  means  of  raising  funds  for  the  benefit  of  the  wounded, 
was  a  series  of  public  concerts.  The  two  in  which  they  reached 
their  climax  took  place  in  the  large  Ridotto  room  (Redouten-Saal) 
of  the  imperial  palace.  The  one  arranged  by  Baron  von  Braun 
as  Director  of  the  Court  Opera,  was  a  performance  of  Haydn's 
"Creation"  conducted  by  the  composer,  on  January  16th;  the 
other  was  arranged  by  Mme.  Frank  (Christine  Gerhardi)  for 
January  30th.  That  lady,  Mme.  Galvani  (Magdalena  Willmann) 
and  Herr  Simoni  were  the  singers,  Beethoven  and  Punto  the 
instrumental  solo  performers;  Haydn  directed  two  of  his  own 
symphonies,  Paer  and  Conti  directed  the  orchestra  in  the  accom- 
paniments to  the  vocal  music.  In  the  first  public  announcement 
printed   in  the  "Wiener  Zeitung"  the  only  artist  mentioned  was 

i"L  .  .  .  O  .  .  .",  according  to  Schindler  as  reported  by  Nohl,  stands  for  "Leipsic 
Oxen,"  the  reference  being  to  the  critics  of  the  "Allgemeine  Musikalische  Zeitung." 


Benefit  Concerts  for  Wounded  Soldiers        283 

"the  famous  amateur  singer  Frau  von  Frank,  nee  Gerhardi,"  as 
the  giver  of  the  concert.  This  called  out  from  Beethoven  the 
following  letter: 

Pour  Madame  de  Frank. 

I  think  it  my  duty,  best  of  women,  to  ask  you  not  to  permit 
your  husband  again  in  the  second  announcement  of  our  concert  to  forget 
that  those  who  contribute  their  talents  to  the  same  also  be  made  known 
to  the  public.  This  is  the  custom,  and  I  do  not  see  if  it  is  not  done  what 
is  to  increase  the  attendance  at  the  concert,  which  is  its  chief  aim.  Punto 
is  not  a  little  wrought  up  about  the  matter,  and  he  is  right,  and  it  was  my 
intention  even  before  I  saw  him  to  remind  you  of  what  must  have  been 
the  result  of  great  haste  or  great  forgetfulness.  Look  after  this,  best 
of  women,  since  if  it  is  not  done  dissatisfaction  will  surely  result. 

Having  been  convinced,  not  only  by  myself  but  by  others  as  well, 
that  I  am  not  a  useless  factor  in  this  concert,  1  know  that  not  only  I  but 
Punto,  Simoni,  Galvani  will  ask  that  the  public  be  informed  also  of  our 
zeal  for  the  philanthropic  purposes  of  this  concert;  otherwise  we  must 
all  conclude  that  we  are  useless. 

Wholly  yours 

L.  V.  Bthvn. 

Whether  this  sharp  remonstrance  produced  the  desired  effect 
cannot  now  be  ascertained,  but  the  original  advertisement  was 
repeated  in  the  newspaper  on  the  24tli  and  28th  verbatim. 

In  tlie  state  of  affairs  then  existing  it  was  no  time  to  give 
public  concerts  for  private  emolument;  moreover,  a  quarrel  with 
the  orchestra  a  year  before  might  have  prevented  Beethoven 
from  obtaining  the  Burgtheater  again,  and  the  new  Theater-an- 
der-W^ien  was  not  yet  ready  for  occupation;  but  there  is  still 
another  adequate  reason  for  his  giving  no  Akademie  (concert) 
this  spring.  He  had  been  engaged  to  compose  an  important 
work  for  the  court  stage. 

Salvatore  Vig'ano,  dancer  and  composer  of  ballets,  botli  action 
and  music,  the  son  of  a  Milanese  of  the  same  profession,  was  born 
at  Naples,  March  29,  1701).  He  began  his  career  at  Rome,  taking 
female  parts  because  women  were  not  allowed  there  to  appear 
upon  the  stage.  He  then  had  engagements  successively  at  Madrid — 
where  he  married  Maria  Medina,  a  celebrated  Spanish  daiiseuse 
— Bordeaux,  London  and  Venice,  in  which  hist  city,  in  17!)  1,  he 
comi)Osed  his  "Jlaoul,  Sire  de  Crocpii."  Thence  lie  came  to 
Vienna,  where  he  and  his  wife  first  appeared  in  May,  1703.  His 
"Raoul"  was  produced  on  June  2.5th  at  the  KiirnthnertJior-TJieater. 
After  two  years  of  service  here  he  accepted  engagements  in  five 
continental  cities  and  returned  to  Vienna  again  in  17!)!).  'I'he 
second  wife  of  Emi)eror  Franz,  Maria  Theresia,  was  a  woman  of 


284  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

much  and  true  musical  taste  and  culture,  and  Vigano  determined 
to  compliment  her  in  a  ballet  composed  expressly  for  that  pur- 
pose. Haydn's  gloriously  successful  "Creation"  may,  perhaps, 
have  had  an  influence  in  the  choice  of  a  subject,  "The  Men  of 
Prometheus,"  and  the  dedication  of  Beethoven's  Septet  to  the 
Empress  may  have  had  its  effect  in  the  choice  of  a  composer. 
At  all  events,  the  work  was  entrusted  to  Beethoven. 

If  the  manner  in  which  this  work  has  been  neglected  by 
Beethoven's  biographers  and  critics  may  be  taken  as  a  criterion, 
an  opinion  prevails  that  it  was  not  worthy  of  him  in  subject, 
execution  or  success.  It  seems  to  be  forgotten  that  as  an  orches- 
tral composer  he  was  then  known  only  by  two  or  three  pianoforte 
concertos  and  his  first  Symphony — a  work  which  by  no  means 
rivals  the  greater  production  of  Mozart  and  Haydn — and  that 
for  the  stage  he  was  not  known  to  have  written  anything.  There 
is  a  misconception,  too,  as  to  the  position  which  the  ballet  just 
then  held  in  the  Court  Theatre.  As  a  matter  of  fact  it  stood 
higher  than  ever  before  and,  perhaps,  than  it  has  ever  stood  since. 
Vigano  was  a  man  of  real  genius  and  had  wrought  a  reform  which 
is  clearly,  vigorously  and  compendiously  described  in  a  memoir 
of  Heinrich  von  Collin,  from  which  we  quote: 

In  the  reign  of  Leopold  II  the  ballet,  which  had  become  a  well- 
attended  entertainment  in  Vienna  through  the  efforts  of  Noverre,  was 
restored  to  the  stage.  Popular  interest  turned  at  once  to  them  again, 
and  this  was  intensified  in  a  great  degree  when,  beside  the  ballet-master 
Muzarelli,  a  second  ballet-master,  Mr.  Salvatore  Vigano,  whose  wife 
disclosed  to  the  eyes  of  the  spectators  a  thitherto  unsuspected  art,  also 
gave  entertainments.  The  most  important  affairs  of  state  are  scarcely 
able  to  create  a  greater  war  of  feeling  than  was  brought  about  at  the 
time  by  the  rivalry  of  the  two  ballet-masters.  Theatre-lovers  without 
exception  divided  themselves  into  two  parties  who  looked  upon  each 
other  with  hatred  and  contempt  because  of  a  difference  of  conviction. 
....  The  new  ballet-master  owed  his  extraordinary  triumph  over  his 
older  rival  to  his  restoration  of  his  art  back  from  the  exaggerated,  inex- 
pressive artificialities  of  the  old  Italian  ballet  to  the  simple  forms  of 
nature.  Of  course,  there  was  something  startling  in  seeing  a  form  of 
drama  with  which  thitherto  there  had  been  associated  only  leaps,  con- 
tortions, constrained  positions,  and  complicated  dances  which  left  behind 
them  no  feeling  of  unity,  suddenly  succeeded  by  dramatic  action,  depth 
of  feeling,  and  plastic  beauty  of  representation  as  they  were  so  magnifi- 
cently developed  in  the  earlier  ballets  of  Mr.  Salvatore  Vigano,  opening, 
as  they  did,  a  new  realm  of  beauty.  And  though  it  may  be  true  that  it 
was  especially  the  natural,  joyous,  unconstrained  dancing  of  Madame 
Vigano  and  her  play  of  features,  as  expressive  as  it  was  fascinating, 
which  provoked  the  applause  of  the  many,  it  is  nevertheless  true  that 
the  very  subject-matter  of  the  ballets,  which  differentiate  themselves 


ViGANO    AND    THE   PrOMETHEUS    BaLLET  285 

very  favorably  from  his  later  conceits,  and  his  then  wholly  classical, 
skilful  and  manly  dancing,  were  well  calculated  to  inspire  admiration 
and  respect  for  the  master  and  his  creations. 

Two  or  three  pages  might  be  compiled  of  spicy  matter  upon 
the  beautiful  Mme.  Vigano's  lavish  display  of  the  Venus-like 
graces  and  charms  of  her  exquisite  form ;  but  her  name,  long  before 
the  "Prometheus"  ballet,  had  disappeared  from  the  roll  of  the 
theatre  and  Fraulein  Cassentini  reigned  in  her  stead.  There  was 
nothing  derogatory  to  Beethoven  in  his  acceptance  of  the  com- 
mission to  compose  the  music  to  a  ballet  by  Vigano;  but  by  whom 
commissioned,  upon  what  terms,  and  when — concerning  these  and 
similar  particulars,  we  know  nothing.  We  only  know,  that  at 
the  close  of  the  season  before  Easter,  on  the  28th  of  March, 
"Die  Geschopfe  des  Prometheus"  w^as  performed  for  the  first 
time  for  the  benefit  of  the  prima  ballerina  of  the  ballet  corps, 
Fraulein  Cassentini,  and  that  the  w^hole  number  of  its  perform- 
ances this  year  was  sixteen,  and  in  1802  thirteen.  The  pecuniary 
result  to  Beethoven  must  therefore  have  been  satisfactory.  True, 
the  full  score  did  not  appear  in  print  in  Beethoven's  lifetime  or 
for  a  long  time  thereafter;  it  was  not  published,  indeed,  until 
the  appearance  of  the  critical  Complete  Edition,  in  which  it  figures 
as  No.  1 1  of  Series  II ;  nothing  is  know'n  of  the  original  manuscript. 
A  copy  revised  except  as  to  two  numbers,  is  in  the  Royal  Imperial 
Court  Library  at  Vienna.  A  pianoforte  arrangement  of  the  score 
was  published  in  June,  1801,  by  Artaria  with  the  opus  number 
24  and  a  dedication  to  Prince  Lichnowsky.  Hoffmeister  printed 
the  orchestral  parts  and  a  pianoforte  score  in  1804  as  Oj).  43 
(the  number  24  having  meanwhile  been  assigned  to  the  Violin 
Sonata  in  F).  Mention  ouglit,  perhaps,  also  to  be  made  of  a  ])iano- 
forte  arrangement  of  No.  8  for  four  liands  "compose  pour  la  faniille 
Kobler  par  Louis  van  Beethoven.  Cette  piece  se  trouve  aussi  a,  gr. 
Orchestre  dans  le  meme  Magazin."  The  Kobler  family  was  fre- 
quently in  Vienna,  among  other  times  in  1814;  it  had  nothing 
to  do  with  the  "PronietJieus"  music. 

Alois  Fuchs  has  preserved  a  characteristic  anecdote  wliich 
came  to  him  "from  tlic  worthy  Jiaiul  of  a  contemporary": 

When  Beethoven  luid  com[)ose(l  the  music  to  the  ballet  "Die 
Geschopfe  des  I'ronietlieus"  in  ISO],  he  was  oiu!  day  met  i)y  liis  formiT 
teacher,  the  great  .Iose[)h  Ilaydn,  who  stopfx'd  him  at  once  and  said: 
"Well,  I  heard  your  ballet  yesterday  and  it  pleased  me  very  mneli!" 
Beethoven  replied:  "O,  dear  Papa,  you  are  very  kind;  but  it  is  far  from 
being  a  'C'reat  if)n  I'  "  Ilaydn,  surj)rise(l  at  the  answer  and  almost  otfeiided, 
said  after  a  short  pause:  "That  is  true;  it  is  not  yet  a  'CreaLiou'  and  J 


286  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

can  scarcely  believe  that  it  will  ever  become  one."  Whereupon  the  men 
said  their  adieus,  both  somewhat  embarrassed. 

From  the  period  immediately  following  we  have  another 
letter  from  Beethoven  to  Hoffmeister,  dated  April  22,  1801,  in 
which  he  says: 

Perhaps,  too,  it  is  the  only  sign  of  genius  about  me  that  my  things 
are  not  always  in  the  best  of  order,  and  nobody  can  mend  the  matter 
except  myself.  Thus,  for  instance,  the  pianoforte  part,  as  is  usual  with 
me,  was  not  written  out  in  score  and  I  only  now  have  made  a  fair  copy  of 
it  so  that  because  of  your  haste  you  might  not  receive  my  too  illegible 
manuscript.  So  that  the  works  may  appear  in  the  proper  sequence  as 
far  as  possible  I  inform  you  that  the  following  opus  numbers  ought  to 
be  placed  on  the  compositions : 

On  the  Solo  Sonata Opus  22 

On  the  Symphony "21 

On  the  Septet          "20 

On  the  Concerto "19 

The  titles  I  will  send  you  soon. 

Set  me  down  as  a  subscriber  for  the  works  of  Johann  Sebastian 
Bach,  also  Prince  Lichnowsky.  The  transcription  of  the  Mozart  sonata 
(or  sonatas)  as  quartets  and  quintets  will  do  you  honor  and  certainly 
prove  remunerative.  In  this  also  I  should  like  to  be  of  greater  service, 
but  I  am  a  disorderly  individual  and  with  the  best  of  intentions  I  am 
continually  forgetting  everything;  yet  I  have  spoken  about  the  matter 
here  and  there,  and  everywhere  have  found  inclination  towards  it.  It 
would  be  a  handsome  thing  if  Mr.  Brother  besides  doing  this  were  to 
publish  an  arrangement  of  the  Septet  for  flute,  as  quintet,  for  example; 
by  this  means  the  amateur  flautists,  who  have  already  approached  me 
on  the  subject,  would  be  helped  and  they  would  swarm  around  it  like 
hungry  insects.  To  say  something  about  myself,  I  have  just  written 
a  ballet  in  which  the  ballet-master  did  not  do  as  well  as  he  might  have 
done.  Baron  von  Liechtenstein  has  endowed  us  with  a  product  not 
commensurate  with  the  ideas  which  the  newspapers  have  spread  touching 
his  genius;  another  bit  of  evidence  against  the  newspapers.  The  Baron 
seems  to  have  formed  his  ideal  on  Herr  Miiller  in  the  marionette  show, 
without,  however,  having  attained  it. 

These  are  the  beautiful  prospects  under  which  we  poor  fellows  in 
Vienna  are  expected  to  flourish.  .  .  . 

Under  the  same  date  Beethoven  wrote  to  Breitkopf  and 
Hartel: 

....  As  regards  your  request  for  compositions  by  me  I  regret  that  at 
this  time  I  am  unable  to  oblige  you;  but  please  tell  me  what  kind  of 
compositions  of  mine  you  want,  viz.,  symphonies,  quartets,  sonatas,  etc., 
so  that  I  may  govern  myself  accordingly,  and  in  case  I  have  what  you 
need  or  want  I  may  place  it  at  your  service.  If  I  am  right,  8  works  of 
mine  are  about  to  appear  at  MoUo's  in  this  place;  four  pieces  at  Hof- 
meister's  in  Leipsic;  in  this  connection  I  wish  to  add  that  one  of  my  first 


Advice  to  the  Critics  of  Leipsic  287 

concertos^  and  therefore  not  one  of  the  best  of  my  compositions,  is  to  be 
published  by  Hofmeister,  and  that  Mollo  is  to  publish  a  Concerto  which, 
indeed,  was  written  later^  hut  nevertheless  does  not  rank  among  the  best  of 
my  works  in  this  form.  This  is  only  a  hint  for  your  musical  journal  in 
the  matter  of  criticism  of  these  works,  although  if  one  might  hear  them 
(well-played,  that  is),  one  would  best  be  able  to  judge  them.  Musical 
policy  requires  that  one  should  keep  possession  for  a  space  of  the  best 
concertos.  You  should  recommend  to  Messrs.  your  critics  great  care 
and  wisdom  especially  in  the  case  of  the  products  of  younger  authors; 
many  a  one  may  be  frightened  off  who  otherwise  might,  probably,  accom- 
plish more;  so  far  as  I  am  concerned  I  am  far  from  thinking  that  I  am 
so  perfect  as  not  to  be  subject  to  blame,  yet  the  howls  of  your  critics 
against  me  were  at  first  so  humiliating  that  after  comparing  myself  with 
others  I  could  not  get  angry,  but  remained  perfectly  quiet,  and  concluded 
they  did  not  understand  their  business;  it  was  the  easier  to  remain  quiet 
since  I  saw  the  praise  lavished  on  people  who  have  no  significance  in  loco 
in  the  eyes  of  the  better  sort,  and  who  disappeared  from  sight  here  no 
matter  how  good  they  may  otherwise  have  been — but  pax  vobiscum — 
peace  for  me  and  them — I  would  not  have  mentioned  a  syllable  about 
the  matter  had  not  you  yourself  done  so. 

Coming  recently  to  a  friend  who  showed  me  the  amount  which 
had  been  collected /or  the  daughter  of  the  immortal  god  of  harmony,  I  marvel 
at  the  smallness  of  the  sum  which  Germany,  especially  your  Germany, 
had  contributed  in  recognition  of  the  individual  who  seems  to  me  worthy 
of  respect  for  her  father's  sake,  which  brings  me  to  the  thought  how 
would  it  do  if  I  were  to  publish  a  work  for  the  benefit  of  this  person  by 
subscription,  acquaint  the  public  each  year  with  the  amount  and  its 
proceeds  in  order  to  assure  her  against  possible  misfortune.  Write  me 
quickly  how  this  might  best  be  accomplished  so  that  something  may  be 
done  before  this  Bach  dies,  before  this  brook^  dries  up  and  we  be  no  longer 
able  to  supply  it  with  water.  That  you  would  publish  the  work  is  self- 
evident. 

Poor  Maximilian's  health  having  become  precarious,  the 
welfare  of  the  Teutonic  Order  in  those  revolutionary  times  de- 
manded that  a  wise  and  energetic  successor  to  him  as  Grand 
Master  should  be  secured  in  the  person  of  an  efficient  coadjutor. 
The  thouglits  of  all  parties  concerned  fixed  upon  a  man  wlio  was 
then  not  even  a  member  of  the  order,  in  case  he  would  join  it  and 
accept  the  position,  namely,  the  famous  Archduke  Karl.  A  Grand 
Chapter  was  therefore  called  at  Vienna,  which  opened  June  1st, 
and  which  unanimously  admitted  jiim  to  membership,  lie  receiv- 
ing a  dispensation  from  taking  the  oaths  for  the  time  being.     On 

'The  Concerto  in  B-flat,  Op.  19. 

*The  Concerto  in  C  major.  Op.  15. 

'Bach  is  the  German  equivalent  of  lirook.  The  <laiiKhter  of  Haeli  referred  to 
was  Regina  Johanna,  in  whose  behalf  I'Vicdrieh  Rofhlilz  had  issued  an  appeal.  She 
was  the  youngest  of  Baeli's  eliiidren  and  died  on  Decern Ixt  11,  1809,  her  last  daya  having 
been  spent  in  comfort  by  reason  of  the  subscription  alluded  to. 


288  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

June  3rd,  he  was  elected  coadjutor  and  on  the  11th  he  received 
the  accolade.  The  circular  which  called  the  meeting  brought  to 
the  Austrian  capital  the  whole  body  of  officials  employed  at  Mer- 
gentheim,  and  thus  it  happened  that  Stephan  von  Breuning, 
whose  name  appears  in  the  Calendar  of  the  order  from  1797  to 
1803,  inclusive,  as  Hofrathsassessor,  came  again  to  Vienna  and 
renewed  intimate  personal  intercourse  with  Beethoven.  Another 
of  our  old  Bonn  acquaintances  had  also  recently  come  thither, 
he  of  whom  (in  the  opinion  of  the  present  writer)  Beethoven 
writes  to  Amenda:  "Now  to  my  comfort  a  man  has  come  again" — 
namely,  Anton  Reicha.  In  the  spring  of  this  year  Beethoven 
removed  from  the  Tiefer  Graben  into  rooms  overlooking  one  of 
the  bastions — there  is  little  if  any  doubt,  the  Wasserkunstbastei — 
and  in  one  of  those  houses  the  main  entrances  to  which  are  in 
the  Sailerstatte.  At  a  later  period  of  his  life  he  came  thither 
again,  and  with  good  reason;  for  those  houses  not  only  afforded 
a  beautiful  view  over  the  Glacis  and  the  Landsstrasse  suburb, 
but  plenty  of  sun  and  fresh  air.  In  the  Hamberger  house,  where 
now  stands  No.  15,  he  had  often  gone  with  his  exercises  to  Joseph 
Haydn,  and  hard  by  lived  his  friend  Anton  von  Tiirkheim,  Royal 
Imperial  Truchsess — that  is,  carver. 

This  year  he  chose  Hetzendorf  for  his  summer  retreat.  Those 
who  know  well  the  environs  of  Vienna,  are  aware  that  this  village 
offers  less  attraction  to  the  lover  of  nature  than  a  hundred  others 
within  easy  distance  of  the  city.  There  is  nothing  to  invite  one, 
who  is  fond  of  the  solitude  of  the  forest,  but  the  thick  groves  in 
the  garden  of  Schbnbrunn  some  ten  minutes'  walk  distant.  It 
is  certainly  possible  that  Beethoven's  state  of  health  may  have 
forbidden  him  to  indulge  his  taste  for  long  rambles,  and  that  the 
cool  shades  of  Schonbrunn,  so  easily  and  at  all  times  accessible, 
may  have  determined  his  choice.  It  would  be  pleasant  to  believe, 
though  there  is  no  evidence  to  support  such  a  belief,  that  some 
feeling  of  regard  for  his  former  patron  Maximilian,  who  had  sought 
retirement  at  Hetzendorf,  was  one  of  the  causes  which  induced 
the  composer  to  spend  this  summer  there. 

That  was  a  period  at  Vienna  fruitful  in  short  sacred  cantatas. 
On  certain  days  in  the  spring  and  late  autumn  no  theatrical  per- 
formances were  allowed  and  the  principal  composers  embraced 
the  opportunity  to  exhibit  their  skill  and  invention  in  this  branch 
of  their  art;  sometimes  in  concerts  for  their  own  benefit,  more 
commonly  in  those  for  public  charities.  Haydn,  Salieri,  Winter, 
Siissmayr,  Paer,  are  names  that  will  occur  in  this  connection  to 
every  student  of  Vienna's  musical  annals.    Beethoven,  ever  ready  to 


OiL\TORio  :  "The  Mount  of  Olives"  289 

compete  with  the  greatest  talent  in  at  least  one  work,  and  desirous 
of  producing  at  his  next  concert  the  novelty  of  an  extensive  vocal 
composition  by  himself,  determined  to  compose  a  work  of  this 
class.  The  subject  chosen  was  "Christus  am  Olberg."^  Its 
composition  was  the  grand  labor  of  this  summer.  "The  text 
was  written  by  me  in  collaboration  with  the  poet  within  14;  days,'* 
writes  Beethoven  in  one  of  his  letters,  "but  the  poet  was  musical 
and  had  already  written  many  things  for  music;  I  was  able  to 
consult  with  him  at  any  moment."  This  poet  was  Franz  Xaver 
Huber,  fertile  writer  in  general  literature  and  a  popular  author 
for  the  Vienna  stage,  who  occupied  so  high  a  place  in  public 
esteem,  that  his  consent  to  prepare  the  text  of  the  "Christus" 
is  another  indication  of  the  high  reputation  of  Beethoven.  The 
merits  and  demerits  of  the  poem  need  not  be  expatiated  upon; 
Beethoven's  own  words  show  that  he  was  in  part  responsible  for 
them.     Schindler  says: 

Beethoven  also  lived  in  Hetzendorf  in  1805  and  composed  his 
"Fidelio."  A  coincidence  touching  the  two  works,  one  that  remained 
in  the  lively  memory  of  Beethoven  for  many  years,  was  that  he  composed 
both  of  them  in  the  thicket  of  the  forest  in  the  Schonbrunner  Hofgarten, 
sitting  on  the  hill  between  two  oaks  which  branched  out  from  the  trunk 
about  two  feet  from  the  ground.  This  oak,  which  always  remained 
remarkable  in  his  eyes  (it  is  to  the  left  of  the  Gloriet),  I  found  again 
with  Beethoven  as  late  as  1823,  and  it  awakened  in  him  interesting 
memories  of  the  early  period. 


So  far  as  has  been  determined,  the  compositions  completed 
in  1801  were  the  Sonatas  for  Pianoforte  and  Violin,  Oj).  23  and  24; 
the  Pianoforte  Sonatas  in  A-flat,  Op.  26,  E-flat,  Op.  27,  No.  1, 
and  C-sharp  minor.  Op.  27,  No.  2,  and  D  major.  Op.  28;  and 
the  Quintet  in  C  major.  Op.  20.  "The  Andante  in  D  minor  of 
the  Sonata,  Op.  28,"  says  Czerny,  "was  long  his  favorite  and  he 
played  it  often  for  his  own  pleasure."  Tlie  twelve  Contradanccs 
and  six  Rustic  Dances  {Landlcr)  are  sketched  in  part  on  tlie  first 
staves  of  the  Kcssler  skctciibook.  If  we  are  justified  in  assuming 
tliat  tlicy  were  comj)Oscd  for  the  balls  of  the  succ-ccding  winter 
and  were  played  from  manuscript,  it  would  follow  that  they  also 
arc  to  be  counted  among  the  compositions  comph'ted  in  this  year. 

The  published  works  were  the  Concerto  for  INanofortc  and 
Orchestra,  Op.  15,  riedicated  "A  son  Altesse  Madame  la  Princcssc 

'Known  in  English  as  "The  Mount  of  Olives." 


290  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

Odescalclii  nee  Keglevics";  the  Sonata  for  Pianoforte  and 
Horn,  Op.  17,  dedicated  "A  Madame  la  Baronne  de  Braun";  the 
Quintet  for  Pianoforte,  Oboe,  Clarinet,  Horn  and  Bassoon,  Op. 
16,  dedicated  "A  son  Altesse  Monseigneur  le  Prince  Regnant  de 
Schwarzenberg."  These  three  works  were  announced  by  Mollo 
and  Co.  on  March  21.  Furthermore,  the  music  to  "Prometheus," 
arranged  for  Pianoforte  (according  to  Czerny  by  the  composer) 
and  dedicated  "A  sua  Altezza  la  Signora  Principessa  Lichnowsky, 
nata  Contessa  Thun,"  published  in  June  by  Artaria  as  Op.  27; 
"6  Variations  tres  faciles"  on  an  original  theme  in  G,  announced 
by  Johann  Traeg  as  absolutely  new  on  August  11,  sketched  in 
the  preceding  year  but  probably  completed  in  this;  the  Sonatas, 
Op.  23  and  24,  dedicated  "A  Monsieur  le  Comte  Maurice  de 
Fries,"  announced  on  October  28;  the  six  Quartets,  Op.  18,  dedi- 
cated "A  son  Altesse  Monseigneur  le  Prince  Regnant  de  Lobko- 
witz,"  announced  (second  series)  on  October  28  by  Mollo.  The 
Pianoforte  Concerto  in  B-flat,  Op.  19,  dedicated  "A  Monsieur 
Charles  Nikl  Noble  de  Nikelsberg,"  and  the  Symphony  in  C, 
Op.  21,  dedicated  "A  son  Excellence  Monsieur  le  Baron  van 
Swieten,"  were  published  by  Hoffmeister  and  Kiihnel  of  Leipsic 
certainly  before  the  end  of  the  year,  since  they  reached  Vienna 
on  January  16,  and  were  advertised  there.  An  earlier  Leipsic 
edition  has  not  been  found.  The  two  Violin  Sonatas  in  A  minor 
and  F  major  were  dedicated  to  Count  Moritz  von  Fries  and  were 
originally  intended  to  be  coupled  in  a  single  opus  number  (23), 
as  appears  from  the  preliminary  announcement  by  Mollo  in  the 
"Wiener  Zeitung"  of  October  28,  1801,  and  also  by  the  designa- 
tion of  the  second  as  "No.  2,"  on  a  copy  of  Op  24.  Sketches  of 
the  two  found  in  the  Betters  sketchbook  are  evidence  of  their 
simultaneous  origin. 

The  Pianoforte  Sonata,  Op.  26,  had  its  origin,  according  to 
Nottebohm's  study  of  the  sketches,  in  the  year  1800;  but  Shed- 
lock  (in  the  "Musical  Times"  of  August,  1892)  prints  a  few  begin- 
nings of  the  first  movement  in  B  minor  (!)  which  probably  date 
farther  back,  perhaps  to  the  Bonn  period.  A  young  composer,^ 
Ferdinand  Paer  (born  at  Parma  in  1771),  since  the  beginning  of 
1798  had  produced  on  the  court  stage  a  series  of  pleasing  and 
popular  works.  Laboring  in  a  sphere  so  totally  different  from 
that  of  Beethoven,  there  was  no  rivalry  between  them  and  their 
relations  were  cordial  and  friendly.  On  June  6th  of  this  summer 
Paer  brought  out  a  heroic  opera,  "Achilles,"  which  "was  received 

'Here,  for  a  space,  the  Editor  reverts  to  the  original  manuscript  not  employed 
by  the  German  revisers,  except  as  a  foot-note. 


Publications  of  the  Year  1801  291 

with  a  storm  of  approval  and  deserved  it,"  says  the  correspondent 
of  the  "Zeitung  fur  die  Elegante  Welt."  Paer  in  his  old  age 
told  Ferdinand  Hiller  a  characteristic  anecdote  of  Beethoven 
which  cannot  possibly  be  true  in  connection  with  his  "Leonore," 
as  he,  by  a  lapse  of  memory,  related  it,  but  is,  undoubtedly,  in 
connection  with  "Achilles."  It  was  to  the  effect  that  Beethoven 
went  with  Paer  to  the  theatre  where  an  opera  by  the  latter  was 
performing.  He  sat  beside  him  and  after  he  had  time  and  again 
cried  out,  "Ah,  que  c'est  beau,  que  c'est  interessant!"  had  finally 
said:  "II  faut  que  je  compose  cela."  The  correspondent  just 
cited  complains  of  the  "want  of  character"  in  the  marches  in 
"Achilles"  and  incidentally  confirms  one  of  Ries's  "Notizen": 
"The  funeral  march  in  A-flat  minor  in  the  Sonata  dedicated  to 
Prince  Lichnowsky  (Op. 26)  was  the  result  of  the  great  praise 
with  which  the  funeral  march  in  Paer's  'Achilles'  was  received 
by  Beethoven's  friends."  Of  that  Sonata,  completed  this  year, 
Czerny  says:  "When  Cramer  was  in  Vienna  and  was  creating  a 
great  sensation  not  only  by  his  playing  but  also  by  the  three  sonatas 
which  he  dedicated  to  Haydn  (of  which  the  first  in  A-flat,  %  time, 
awakened  great  amazement),  Beethoven,  who  had  been  pitted 
against  Cramer,  wrote  the  A-flat  Sonata,  Op.  26,  in  which  there 
is  purposely  a  reminder  of  the  Clementi-Cramer  passage-work  in 
the  Finale.  The  Marcia  funebre  was  composed  on  the  impulsion 
of  a  very  much  admired  funeral  march  of  Paer's,  and  added  to 
the  Sonata." 

Whether  or  not  this  funeral  march  was  really  occasioned  by 
Paer's  "Achilles"  or  one  from  another  opera  by  Paer  (since 
"Achilles"  was  performed  for  the  first  time  in  1801,  and  the  older 
first  sketches  already  contemplated  a  "pezzo  caracteristico  p.  e. 
una  marcia  in  as  moll"),  is  of  sul)ordinate  interest,  since  the  legend 
has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  reminiscences,  but  only  with  its 
tremendous  superiority  to  the  music  by  Paer. 

The  enigmatic  "Sonata  pour  M."  in  the  sketches  for  this  sonata 
no  doubt  means  "for  Mollo"  simi)ly.  The  .splctulid  print  \n  farsiviile, 
publislicd  })y  Erich  Praegcr  from  the  auto^rapli  discovered  by  liiiii.  gives 
infcjrmation  concerning  the  sketclics  and  also  concerning  the  legends 
which  refer  to  the  origin  of  the  different  movements. 

Of  the  two  Pianoforte  vSonatas,  Op.  27,  the  first  (in  E-flat) 
was  dedicated  to  the  Princess  Johanna  von  I>iechtenst<Mn,  Jice  the 
Landgravine  FiirstenlxTg,  the  .second  to  Countess  (Jiulietta  (luic- 
ciardi.  It  is  apparent,  tJierefore,  that  they  a|)peared  separately 
at  first.     Sketclies  of  tlie  first  show  that  tliey  originated  in  1801. 


29'-2  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

Both  are  designated  "quasi  fantasia,"  which  plainly  indicates 
a  departure  from  the  customary  structure.  The  C-sharp  minor 
Sonata,  Op.  27,  No.  2,  was  dedicated  to  the  Countess  Giulietta 
Guicciardi,  who  at  this  time  (1801-1802)  was  Beethoven's  pupil 
and  indubitably  must  be  counted  amongst  the  ladies  who,  for  a 
time  at  least,  were  near  to  his  heart.  Concerning  this,  later. 
As  his  relationship  to  the  Countess  has  been  exaggerated,  so  also 
more  significance  has  been  attached  to  this  sonata  than  is  justified 
from  a  sober  point  of  view.  Beethoven  himself  was  vexed  that 
more  importance  was  attached  to  it  than  to  other  sonatas 
which  he  held  in  higher  esteem  (Op.  78,  for  instance),  simply  because 
it  had  become  popular.  Its  popularity  was  subsequently  height- 
ened by  the  designations  "Arbor  Sonata"  and  "Moonlight 
Sonata"  and  its  creation  into  a  sort  of  love-song  without  words, 
especially  after  Schindler  had  identified  the  Countess  Guicciardi 
with  the  "Immortal  Beloved"  of  the  famous  love-letter.  It  was 
a  long  time  before  attention  was  paid  to  a  letter  written  by 
Dr.  G.  L.  Grosheim,  to  Beethoven,  dated  November  10,  1819,  in 
which  occur  the  words:  "You  wrote  me  that  at  Seume's  grave  (in 
Teplitz)  you  had  placed  yourself  among  his  admirers.  ...  It  is 
a  desire  which  I  cannot  suppress,  that  you,  Mr.  Chapelmaster, 
would  give  to  the  world  your  wedding  with  Seume — I  mean 
your  Fantasia  in   C-sharp  minor  and  the  'Beterin'."^ 

The  autograph  of  the  Sonata  in  D,  Op.  28,  bears  the  inscrip- 
tion "Gran   Sonata,   Op.    28,    1801,   da  L.  van  Beethoven."     It 

i"The  Sonata  in  C-sharp  minor  has  asked  many  a  tear  from  gentle  souls  who 
were  taught  to  hear  in  its  first  movement  a  lament  for  unrequited  love  and  reflected 
that  it  was  dedicated  to  the  Countess  Giulia  Guicciardi,  for  whom  Beethoven  assuredly 
had  a  tender  feeling.  Moonlight  and  the  plaint  of  an  unhappy  lover.  How  affecting! 
But  Beethoven  did  not  compose  the  Sonata  for  the  Countess,  though  he  inscribed  it  to 
her.  He  had  given  her  a  Rondo,  and  wishing  to  dedicate  it  to  another  pupil,  he  asked 
for  its  return  and  in  exchange  sent  the  Sonata.  Moreover,  it  appears  from  evidence 
scarcely  to  be  gainsaid,  that  Beethoven  never  intended  the  C-sharp  minor  sonata  as  a 
musical  expression  of  love,  unhappy  or  otherwise.  In  a  letter  dated  January  22,  1892 
(for  a  copy  of  which  I  am  indebted  to  Fraulein  Lipsius  [La  Mara]  to  whom  it  is  addressed), 
Alexander  W.  Thayer,  the  greatest  of  Beethoven's  biographers,  says:  'That  Mr.  Kalischer 
has  adopted  Ludwig  Nohl's  strange  notion  of  Beethoven's  infatuation  for  Theresa 
Malfatti,  a  girl  of  fourteen  years,  surprises  me;  as  also  that  he  seems  to  consider  the 
C-sharp  minor  Sonata  to  be  a  musical  love-poem  addressed  to  Julia  Guicciardi.  He 
ought  certainly  to  know  that  the  subject  of  that  sonata  was  or  rather  that  it  was  sug- 
gested by  —  Seume's  little  poem  'Die  Beterin'.'  The  poem  referred  to  describes  a 
maiden  kneeling  at  the  high  altar  in  prayer  for  the  recovery  of  a  sick  father.  Her 
sighs  and  petitions  ascend  like  the  smoke  of  incense  from  the  censers,  angels  come  to 
her  aid,  and,  at  the  last,  the  face  of  the  suppliant  one  glows  with  the  transfiguring 
light  of  hope.  The  poem  has  little  to  commend  it  as  an  example  of  literary  art  and  it 
is  not  as  easy  to  connect  it  in  fancy  with  the  last  movement  of  the  sonata  as  with  the 
first  and  second;  but  the  evidence  that  Beethoven  paid  it  the  tribute  of  his  music  seems 
conclusive." — "The  Pianoforte  and  its  Music,"  by  H.  E.  Krehbiel,  Charles  Scribner's 
Sons,  pp.  163,  164. 

On  page  174,  Vol.  IV,  of  the  German  edition  of  this  biography  Dr.  Deiters  remarks: 
"The  venerated  Thayer,  it  is  true,  conceived  the  idea  that  Beethoven's  Fantasia  and 


The  C-Sharp  Minor  Sonata  293 

appeared  in  print  in  1802,  having  been  advertised  in  the  "Wiener 
Zeitung"  of  August  14,  from  the  Industriekontor,  with  the  dedi- 
cation, "A  Monsieur  Joseph  Noble  de  Sonnenfels,  Conseiller 
aulique  et  Secretaire  perpetuel  de  I'Academie  des  Beaux  Arts." 
Touching  the  personality  of  Joseph  Noble  de  Sonnenfels  some- 
thing may  be  learned  from  W.  Nagel's  book,  "Beethoven  und 
seine  Klaviersonaten,"  and  also  from  Willibald  Muller's  biography 
of  him.  At  the  time,  Sonnenfels  was  nearly  70  years  old  and,  so 
far  as  is  known,  was  not  an  intimate  friend  of  Beethoven's;  the 
dedication  was  probably  nothing  more  than  a  mark  of  respect 
for  the  man  of  brains  with  whose  ideas  Beethoven  was  in  sympathy. 
The  single  clue  as  to  the  origin  of  the  work  is  the  date  (1801)  on 
the  autograph;  sketches  seem  to  be  lacking.  The  sunny  dispo- 
sition of  the  music  is  the  only  evidence,  and  this  is  internal.  The 
work  early  acquired  the  sobriquet  "Sonata  pastorale"  (it  was 
first  printed  by  A.  Cranz),  and  the  designation  is  not  inept. 

The  String  Quintet,  Op.  29,  as  is  evidenced  by  an  inscription 
on  the  score,  was  composed  in  1801  and  published  by  Breitkopf 
and  Hartel  in  1802,  towards  the  close  of  the  year.  Simultaneously 
it  appeared  from  the  press  of  Artaria.  This  second  edition  has 
a  history.    According  to  Ries  the  Quintet 

was  stolen  in  Vienna  and  published  by  A.  (Artaria)  and  Co.     Having 

been  copied  in  a  single  night,  it  was  full  of  errors Beethoven's 

conduct  in  the  matter  is  without  parallel.  He  asked  A.  to  send  the 
fifty  copies  which  had  been  printed  to  me  for  correction,  but  at  tlie  same 
time  instructed  me  to  use  ink  on  the  wretched  paper  and  as  coarsely 
as  possible;  also  to  cross  out  several  lines  so  that  it  would  be  iraj)ossible 
to  make  use  of  a  single  copy  or  sell  it.  The  scratching  out  was  particu- 
larly in  the  Scherzo.     I  obeyed  his  instructions  implicitly,  etc. 

Nottebohm  has  proved  that  the  further  statements  of  Ries 
touching  the  melting  of  the  plates,  etc.,  are  wrong;  but  the  en- 
raged composer  did  make  a  public  statement — and  very  properly: 

Sonata,  Op.  27,  No.  2,  hud  \iOcn  in.spircd  by  Soiimo'.s  'Hctcrin.'  Whoever  rompnros  tho 
sonata  with  the  ixjcm  will  .soon  realizo  that  thiTc?  can  he  no  thon^'ht  of  this.  \\r  liave 
here,  no  donld,  a  confusion  of  pieces.  It  would  he  easier  to  think  of  the  Fantasia,  Op. 
77.  Kalisclier,  who  first  recoj^nized  Thayer's  error,  thouf.;ht  of  the  (J-sliarp  minor 
Quartet;  hut  this  cannot  have  Ix-en  in  Heethoven's  mind,  for  it  was  composed  much 
later."  Grossheim'.s  h-tler  was  written  in  ISl!);  the  ('-sharp  minf)r  quartet  was  com- 
po3e<l  in  1820.  So  Kaliseher  was  ridiculously  in  errf)r.  Hut  why  does  Dr.  Deiters 
suggest  the  Fantasia,  Op.  77.'  (irosshciin  was  u  musician — com[)oMer,  teacher  and  con- 
ductor— a.s  well  as  philolf)gist,  and  when  he  said  "('-sharp  minor"  it  is  nr)t  likely  that  he 
was  thinking  of  a  work  in  (J  minor.  Moref)ver,  the  most  admiralile  Dr.  Deili-rs  to  the 
contrary  notwithstanding,  it  is  not  at  all  difliciilt  to  associate  the  sonata  with  the  p«)era 
whose  picture  of  lamentable  petition  and  rising  clouds  of  incense  is  strikingly  repro- 
duced in  suggestion  by  the  music  of  the  first  movenn'nt.  S«Tene  hopefulness  can  be 
said  to  be  the  feeling  wliich  informs  the  second  movement;  and  why  should  the  finale 
not  be  the  musician's  continuation  of  the  poet's  story? 


294  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

To  the  Lovers  of  Music. 

In  informing  the  public  that  the  original  Quintet  in  C  long  ago 
advertised  by  me  as  having  been  published  by  Breitkopf  and  Hartel 
in  Leipsic,  I  declare  at  the  same  time  that  I  have  no  interest  in  the 
edition  published  simultaneously  by  Messrs.  Artaria  and  Mollo  in  Vienna. 
I  am  the  more  compelled  to  make  this  declaration  since  this  edition  is 
very  faulty,  incorrect  and  utterly  useless  to  players,  whereas  Messrs. 
Breitkopf  and  Hartel,  the  legal  owners  of  this  Quintet,  have  done  all 
in  their  power  to  produce  the  work  as  handsomely  as  possible. 

Ludwig  van  Beethoven. 

A  year  later  Beethoven  revoked  this  declaration  so  far  as  it 
concerned  Mollo  in  the  following 

Announcement  to  the  Public. 

After  having  inserted  a  statement  in  the  "Wiener  Zeitung"  of 
January  22,  1803,  in  which  I  publicly  declared  that  the  edition  of  my 
Quintet  published  by  Mollo  did  not  appear  under  my  supervision,  was 
faulty  in  the  extreme  and  useless  to  players,  the  undersigned  hereby 
revokes  the  statement  to  the  extent  of  saying  that  Messrs.  Mollo  and  Co. 
have  no  interest  in  this  edition,  feeling  that  I  owe  such  a  declaration 
to  do  justice  to  Messrs.  Mollo  and  Co.  before  a  public  entitled  to  respect. 

Ludwig  van  Beethoven. 

As  Nottebolim  has  shown,  Beethoven  eventually  agreed  to 
revise  and  correct  this  edition  also.  A  long  letter  to  Breitkopf  and 
Hartel,  dated  November  13,  1802,  gives  a  lively  picture  of  the 
excitement  which  the  incident  aroused  in  Beethoven: 

I  write  hurriedly  to  inform  you  of  only  the  most  important  things — 
know  then,  that  while  I  was  in  the  country  for  my  health,  the  arch- 
scoundrel  Artaria  borrowed  the  Quintet  from  Count  Friess  on  the 
pretence  that  it  was  already  published  and  in  existence  here  and  that 
they  wanted  it  for  the  purpose  of  reengraving  because  their  copy  was 
faulty  and  as  a  matter  of  fact  intended  to  rejoice  the  public  with  it  in  a 
few  days — good  Count  Fr.,  deceived  and  not  reflecting  that  a  piece  of 
rascality  might  be  in  it,  gave  it  to  them — he  could  not  ask  me,  I  was 
not  here,  but  fortunately  I  learned  of  the  matter  in  time,  it  was  on  Tuesday 
of  this  week,  and  in  my  zeal  to  save  my  honor  and  as  quickly  as  possible 
to  prevent  your  suffering  injury,  I  offered  two  new  works  to  these  con- 
temptible persons  if  they  would  suppress  the  entire  edition,  but  a  cooler- 
headed  friend  who  was  with  me  asked,  Do  you  want  to  reward  these  rascals  .f* 
The  case  was  finally  closed  under  conditions,  they  assuring  me  that  no 
matter  what  you  printed  they  would  reprint  it,  these  generous  scoundrels 
decided  therefore  to  wait  three  weeks  after  the  receipt  here  of  your 
copies  before  issuing  their  own  (insisting  that  Count  F.  had  made  them 
a  present  of  the  copy).  For  one  term  the  contract  was  to  be  closed  and 
for  this  boon  I  had  to  give  them  a  work  which  I  value  at  at  least  40 
ducats.  Before  this  contract  was  made  comes  my  good  brother  as  if 
sent  by  heaven,  he  hurries  to  Count  Fr.,  the  whole  thing  is  the  biggest 


The  String  Quartet  in  C,  Op.  29  295 

swindle  in  the  world,  how  neatly  they  kept  themselves  out  of  Count  F.'s 
way  and  so  on,  and  I  go  to  F.  and  as  the  enclosed  Revers  may  show  that 
I  did  all  in  my  power  to  protect  you  from  injury — and  my  statement 
of  the  case  may  serve  to  prove  to  you  that  no  sacrifice  was  too  great  for 
me  to  save  my  honor  and  save  you  from  harm.  From  the  Revers  you 
will  see  the  measures  that  must  be  adopted  and  you  should  make  all 
possible  haste  to  send  copies  here  and  if  possible  at  the  same  price  as 
the  rascals — Sonnleithner  and  I  will  take  all  further  measures  which 
seem  to  us  good,  so  that  their  entire  edition  may  be  destroyed — please 
take  good  notice  that  MoUo  and  Artaria  combined  are  already  only  a 
shop,  that  is,  a  combined  lot  of  scoundrels.  The  dedication  to  Friess 
I  hope  was  not  forgotten  inasmuch  as  my  brother  wrote  it  on  the  first  sheet 
— I  wrote  the  Revers  myself  since  my  poor  brother  is  very  much  occupied 
with  work  yet  did  all  he  could  to  save  you  and  me,  in  the  confusion  he 
lost  a  faithful  dog  which  he  called  his  favorite,  he  deserves  that  you 
thank  him  personally  as  I  have  done  on  my  own  account — recall  that 
from  Tuesday  to  late  last  night  I  devoted  myself  almost  wholly  to  this 
matter  and  the  mere  thought  of  this  rascally  stroke  may  serve  to  make 
you  realize  how  unpleasant  it  is  for  me  to  have  anything  to  do  with 
such  miserable  men. 

''Revers. 

"The  undersigned  pledges  himself  under  no  circumstances  to  send 
out  or  sell  here  or  elsewhere  the  Quintet  received  from  Mr.  Count  Friess 
composed  by  Lud.  v.  Beethoven  until  the  original  edition  shall  have 
been  in  circulation  in  Vienna  14  days. 

"Vienna,  9th  month,  1802.  Artaria  Comp." 

This  R.  is  signed  with  its  own  hand  by  the  Comp.  Use  the  following: 
Is  to  be  had  a  Vienne  chez  Artaria  Comp.,  ji  MUiiich  chez  F.  Halm,  a 
Francfort  chez  Gayl  et  Nadler,  perhaps  also  in  Leipsic  chez  Meysel — 
the  price  is  2  florins  Viennese  standard.  I  got  hold  of  twelve  copies, 
which  they  promised  me  from  the  beginning,  and  corrected  them — 
the  engraving  is  abominable.  Make  use  of  all  this,  you  see  that  on  every 
side  we  have  them  in  our  hands  and  can  proceed  against  them  in  the 
courts. — N.B.  Any  personal  measures  taken  against  A.  will  have  my 
approval. 

Under  date  of  December  5,  1802,  Beethoven's  brother  Karl 
wrote  to  Breitkopf  and  Iliirtel  on  the  same  subject: 

Finally  I  shall  inform  you  touching  the  manner  in  which  my  brother 
sells  his  works.  We  already  have  in  i)riiit  34  works  and  aiH»iit  IS  numbers. 
These  j)iec('s  were  mostly  commissioned  l)y  amateurs  under  the  foMowing 
agreement:  he  who  wants  a  |)ieee  pays  a  fixed  sum  for  its  cxehisive 
possession  for  a  half  or  a  whole  year,  or  longer,  and  binds  himself  not 
to  give  the  niannseript  to  ani/hodif;  at  the  eoii'Insion  of  fhe  jx-riod  it  is 
the  privilege;  of  tiie  author  to  do  what  he  j)leases  with  tlu;  work.  This 
was  the  understanding  witli  Count  Friess.  Now  the  Count  has  a  certain 
Conti  as  violin  teacher,  and  to  him  Artaria  turned  and  he  jjrobjibly  for 
a  consideration  of  8  or  10  florins  said  that  the  quart<'t  (.v/>)  had  aln-ady 
been  printed  and  was  to  be  had  everywhere.     This  made  Count   Friess 


296  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

think  that  there  was  nothing  more  to  be  lost  in  the  matter  and  he  gave 

it  up  without  a  word  to  us  about  it Count  Friess  is  not  here 

just  now,  but  he  will  return  in  6  days  and  then  we  shall  see  that  you 
are  recompensed  in  one  way  or  another.  I  send  you  the  accompanying 
Revers  signed  by  Artaria  for  inspection;  please  return  it.  This  Revers 
cost  my  brother  7  days  during  which  time  he  could  do  nothing,  and  me 
innumerable  trips,  many  unpleasantnesses  and  the  loss  of  my  dog.  ^ 

Beethoven's  declaration  not  having  been  published  until  more 
than  two  months  after  his  letter  containing  the  Revers,  the  inci- 
dents touching  which  Ries  makes  report,  and  the  partial  reengrav- 
ing  of  the  plates,  must  have  taken  place  after  January,  1803,  and 
the  end  of  the  quarrel  in  1804.  Sketches  of  the  Quintet  have 
not  been  found  and  the  question  naturally  arises  whether  or  not 
it  might  have  had  an  earlier  origin  or  been  developed  from  earlier 
sketches.  A  note  in  a  Conversation  Book  of  1826,  indicates  that 
one  of  the  Quintet's  themes  was  written  by  Schuppanzigh. 

'Appendix  II  to  the  second  volume  of  the  German  edition  of  this  work  contains 
copies  of  all  the  documents  in  the  legal  controversies  which  arose  out  of  Beethoven's 
charges  against  Artaria  and  Co.  and  Mollo  in  the  matter  of  the  unauthorized  publication 
of  the  Quintet.  They  do  not  add  much  that  is  essential  to  the  story  as  it  has  been  told, 
though  they  show  that  the  legal  authorities  upheld  the  publishers  against  the  composer. 


Chapter  XX 


Letters  of  1801 — The  Beginning  of  Beethoven's  Deafness — ■ 
The  Criticisms  of  a  Leipsic  Journal — Bonn  Friends  in 
Vienna — Reicha,  Breuning,  Ries,  Czerny — Chronology 
Adjusted. 

LET  us  now  turn  back  to  the  important  letters  written  in  the 
summer  of  1801,  beginning  with  two  written  to  his  friend 
Amenda,  which  were  first  published  in  the  "Signale"  of  1852, 
No.  5.     The  first,  without  date  or  record  of  place,  is  as  follows: 

How  can  Amenda  doubt  that  I  shall  always  remember  him'  because 
I  do  not  write  or  have  not  written  to  him — as  if  memory  could  only 
be  preserved  in  such  a  manner. 

A  thousand  times  the  best  of  all  men  that  I  ever  learned  to  know 
comes  into  my  mind — yes,  of  the  two  men  who  had  my  entire  love,  of 
which  one  still  lives,  you  are  the  third — how  can  recollection  of  you  die 
out  of  my  mind.  You  shall  soon  receive  a  lon<?  letter  from  me  concerning 
my  present  condition  and  everything  about  me  that  might  interest  you. 
Farewell,  dear,  good,  noble  friend,  keep  me  always  in  your  love,  your 
friendship,  as  I  shall  forever  remain 

Your  faithful  Beethoven. 

The  longer  letter  which  he  luid  promised  to  send  to  liis  friend 
is  dated  June  1,  1801 : 

My  dear,  gf>od  Amenda,  my  cordial  friend,  I  received  and  read 
your  last  letter  with  mixed  pain  and  |)leasurc.  To  what  sIimII  I  coiiipare 
your  fidelity,  your  attachment  to  me.  Oh,  it  is  so  beautiful  that  you 
have  always  been  true  to  me  and  I  know  how  to  single  you  out  and 
keep  you  jibove  all  others.  You  are  not  a  Viennes(i  friend,  no,  you 
are  one  of  lliosi;  who  sjjring  from  the  ground  of  my  native  land.  How 
often  do  I  wish  you  were  with  me,  for  your  ]J(M>thoven  is  living  an  unhappy 
life,  quarreling  with  nature  and  its  creutor,  often  cursing  llu^  l.ilter 
because  he  surrendered  his  creatures  to  the  merest  aceident  which  some- 
times broke  or  destroyed  the  most  beautiful  blossoms.  Know  that  my 
nol)lest  faculty,  my  hearing,  has  greatly  deteri«)rat<>d.  When  you  were 
still  witli  me  I  felt  the  symi)toms  but  kept  silent;  now  it  is  continually 
growing  worse,  and  whether  or  not  a  cure  is  i)ossil)Ie  has  become  a 
'Beethoven  writes:  "How  can  Amenda  flouljt  that  I  should  ever  forget  him?" 

(  297  1 


298  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

question;  but  it  is  said  to  be  due  to  my  bowels  and  so  far  as  they  are  con- 
cerned I  am  nearly  restored  to  health.  I  hope,  indeed  that  my  hearing 
will  also  improve,  but  I  am  dubious  because  such  diseases  are  the  most 
incurable.  How  sad  is  my  lot!  I  must  avoid  all  things  that  are  dear 
to  me  and  live  amongst  such  miserable  and  egotistical  men  as  .  .  . 
and  .  .  .  and  others.  I  must  say  that  amongst  them  all  Lichnowsky  is  the 
most  satisfactory,  since  last  year  he  has  settled  an  income  of  600  florins  on 
me  and  the  good  sale  of  my  works  enables  me  to  live  without  care.  I 
could  sell  everything  that  I  compose  five  times  over  and  at  a  good  price. 
I  have  written  considerably  of  late,  and  as  I  hear  that  you  have  ordered 
a  pianoforte  from  ....  I  will  send  you  various  things  in  the  box  of 
the  instrument  so  that  it  need  not  cost  you  much.  To  my  comfort 
there  has  lately  come  a  man  with  whom  I  can  share  the  pleasures  of 
association,  an  unselfish  friendship;  he  is  one  of  the  friends  of  my  youth. 
I  have  often  spoken  of  you  to  him  and  told  him  that  since  I  left  my 

fatherland  you  have  been  the  only  choice  of  my  heart is  not  very 

satisfactory  to  him — he  is  and  always  will  be  too  weak  for  friendship. 

I  use  him  and only  as  instruments  on  which   I   play  when   I 

please  but  they  can  never  become  witnesses  of  my  whole  internal  and 
external  activities  or  real  participants  (in  my  feelings).  I  estimate 
them  at  only  what  they  are  worth  to  me.  Oh,  how  happy  would  I  be 
if  my  hearing  were  completely  restored;  then  would  I  hurry  to  you, 
but  as  it  is  I  must  refrain  from  everything  and  the  most  beautiful  years 
of  my  life  must  pass  without  accomplishing  the  promise  of  my  talent 
and  powers.  A  sad  resignation  to  which  I  must  resort  although,  indeed, 
I  am  resolved  to  rise  superior  to  every  obstacle.  But  how  will  that  be 
possible.'*  Yes,  Amenda,  if  my  infirmity  shows  itself  to  be  incurable 
in  half  a  year,  I  shall  appeal  to  you;  you  must  abandon  everything  and 
come  to  me.  My  affliction  causes  me  the  least  trouble  in  playing  and 
composing,  the  most  in  association  with  others,  and  you  must  be  my 
companion.  I  am  sure  my  fortune  will  not  desert  me.  What  might  I 
not  essay.'*  Since  you  have  been  gone  I  have  composed  everything  except 
operas  and  church-music.  You  will  not  deny  me;  you  will  help  your 
friend  bear  his  cares  and  affliction.  I  have  also  greatly  bettered  my 
pianoforte  playing  and  I  hope  the  journey  will,  perhaps,  make  your 
fortune;  afterward  you  will  remain  with  me.  I  have  received  all  of 
your  letters  and  despite  the  fact  that  I  answered  so  few  you  were  always 
with  me  and  my  heart  still  beats  as  tenderly  for  you  as  ever  it  did.  I 
beg  of  you  to  keep  the  matter  of  my  deafness  a  profound  secret  to  be 
confided  to  nobody  no  matter  who  it  is.  Write  to  me  very  often.  Your 
letters,  no  matter  how  short,  comfort  me,  do  me  good,  and  I  shall  soon 
expect  another  from  you,  my  dear  fellow.  Do  not  lend  your  quartet 
to  anybody  because  I  have  changed  it  greatly  having  just  learned  how 
properly  to  write  quartets,  as  you  will  observe  when  you  receive  it. 
Now,  farewell,  my  dear,  good  fellow;  if  you  think  I  can  do  something 
for  you  here,  command  me  as  a  matter  of  course. 

Your  faithful,  and  truly  affectionate 

L.  V.  Beethoven. 

In  the  same  montii  Beethoven  wrote  again  to  the  publisher 
Hoffmeister  to  this  effect: 


The  Composer's  Health  in  1801  299 

I  am  a  little  amazed  at  what  you  have  communicated  to  me  through 
the  local  representative  of  your  business.  I  am  almost  vexed  to  think 
that  you  consider  me  capable  of  such  a  trick. 

It  would  be  a  different  matter  if  I  had  sold  my  wares  only  to  avari- 
cious tradesmen  hoping  that  they  would  make  a  good  speculation  on 
the  sly,  but  as  artist  towards  artist  it  is  a  bit  harsh  to  think  such  things 
of  me.  It  looks  to  me  as  if  the  whole  matter  had  been  planned  to  test 
me  or  to  be  merely  a  suspicion;  in  either  case  I  inform  you  that  before 
you  received  the  Septet  from  me  I  sent  it  to  London  to  Mr.  Salomon 
(for  performance  at  his  concerts  out  of  mere  friendship)  but  with  the 
understanding  that  he  should  have  a  care  that  it  should  not  fall  into  the 
hands  of  strangers,  because  I  intended  that  it  should  be  published  in 
Germany,  concerning  which,  if  you  think  it  necessary,  j^ou  may  make 
inquiry  of  him.  But  in  order  to  prove  my  honesty  /  give  you  the  assur- 
ance herewith  that  I  have  not  sold  the  Septet,  Concerto,  the  Symphony  and 
the  Sonata  to  anybody  but  you,  Hoffmeister  and  Kiihnel,  and.  that  you  may 
consider  it  (sic)  as  your  exclusive  property  and  to  this  I  pledge  my  honor. 
You  may  make  such  use  of  this  assurance  as  you  please. 

As  for  the  rest  I  believe  as  little  that  Salomon  is  capable  of  being 
guilty  of  having  the  Septet  printed  as  I  am  of  having  sold  it  to  him.  I 
am  so  conscientious  that  I  have  denied  the  applications  of  various  pub- 
lishers to  print  the  pianoforte  arrangement  of  the  Septet,  and  yet  I 
do  not  know  whether  or  not  you  intend  to  make  such  use  of  it. 

On  June  29,  he  sent  tlie  following  longer  letter  to  Wegeler, 
who  published  it  in  his  "Notizen": 

Vienna,  June  29. 
My  good,  dear  Wegeler! 

How  greatly  do  I  thank  you  for  thinking  of  me;  I  have  so 
little  deserved  it  and  so  little  tried  to  deserve  anything  from  you,  and 
yet  you  are  so  very  good  and  refuse  to  be  held  aloof  by  anything, 
not  even  by  my  unpardonable  remissness,  remaining  always  my  true, 
good,  brave  friend.  Do  not  believe  that  I  couhl  forget  you  who  were 
always  so  dear  to  me.  No.  There  are  moments  when  I  long  for  you 
and  would  like  to  be  with  you.  My  fatherland,  the  beautiful  region  in 
whifli  I  first  saw  the  light,  is  still  as  clear  and  beaiilirul  before  my  eves 
as  when  I  left  you.  In  short,  I  shall  look  upon  that  period  as  onc^  of  the 
hapi)iest  incidents  of  my  life  when  I  shall  see  you  again  and  greet  Father 
Rhine.  When  this  shall  be  I  cannot  now  tell  you — but  I  want  to  say 
that  you  will  see  me  again  only  as  a  great  man.  Yon  shall  reeei\<'  ineas 
a  great  artist  but  as  a  belter  and  more  perfect  man,  and  if  liie  eondilions 
are  improved  in  our  fatherland  my  art  shall  be  employed  in  the  service 
of  the  f)oor.  O  hapi)y  moment  I  ITow  ha|)|)y  ani  I  tlial  I  creativl  thee — 
can  invoke  thee!  .  .  ,  Yon  want  to  know  something  about  my  situation. 
It  is  not  so  bad.  Since  last  year,  unbelievabh;  as  it  may  sound,  even 
after  I  tell  yon,  Lielmovvsky,  who  has  always  remained  my  warmest 
friend  fthere  wen>  litth;  quarrels  l)et  ween  us,  but  tliey  only  served  to 
strengthen  our  friendshij)),  set  aside  a  fixed  sum  of  (iOO  florins  for  me  to 
draw  against  so  long  as  I  remained  without  .'i  position  worthy  of  me. 
From  my  compositions  I  have  a  large  income  and  I  may  say  that  I  have 
more  commissions  than  it  is  j)ossible  for  me  to  fill.     Besides,  I  have  6 


300  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

or  7  publishers  and  might  have  more  if  I  chose;  they  no  longer  bargain 
with  me — I  ask,  and  they  pay.  You  see  it  is  very  convenient.  For  instance, 
I  see  a  friend  in  need  and  my  purse  does  not  permit  me  to  help  him  at  once. 
I  have  only  to  sit  down  and  in  a  short  time  help  is  at  hand.  Moreover,  I  am 
a  better  business  man  than  formerly.  If  I  remain  here  always  I  shall  bring 
it  to  pass  that  I  shall  always  reserve  a  day  for  my  concert  of  which  I  give 
several.  The  only  pity  is  that  my  evil  demon,  my  bad  health,  is  contin- 
ually putting  a  spoke  in  my  wheel,  by  which  I  mean  that  my  hearing 
has  grown  steadily  worse  for  three  years  for  which  my  bowels,  which 
you  know  were  always  wretched  and  have  been  getting  worse,  since  I 
am  always  troubled  with  a  dysentery,  in  addition  to  unusual  weakness, 
are  said  to  be  responsible.  Frank  wanted  to  tone  up  my  body  by  tonic 
medicines  and  restore  my  hearing  with  almond  oil,  but,  'prosit,  nothing 
came  of  the  effort;  my  hearing  grew  worse  and  worse,  and  my  bowels 
remained  as  they  had  been.  This  lasted  until  the  autumn  of  last  year 
and  I  was  often  in  despair.  Then  came  a  medical  ass  who  advised  me 
to  take  cold  baths,  a  more  sensible  one  to  take  the  usual  lukewarm 
Danube  bath.  That  worked  wonders;  my  bowels  improved,  my  hearing 
remained,  or  became  worse.  I  was  really  miserable  during  this  winter; 
I  had  frightful  attacks  of  colic  and  I  fell  back  into  my  previous  condition, 
and  so  things  remained  until  about  four  weeks  ago,  when  I  went  to  Vering, 
thinking  that  my  condition  demanded  a  surgeon,  and  having  great 
confidence  in  him.  He  succeeded  almost  wholly  in  stopping  the 
aw^ul  diarrhoea.  He  prescribed  the  lukewarm  Danube  bath,  into 
which  I  had  each  time  to  pour  a  little  bottle  of  strengthening  stuflf, 
gave  me  no  medicine  of  any  kind  until  about  four  weeks  ago,  when 
he  prescribed  pills  for  my  stomach  and  a  kind  of  tea  for  my  ear.  Since 
then  I  can  say  I  am  stronger  and  better;  only  my  ears  whistle  and  buzz 
continually,  day  and  night.  I  can  say  I  am  living  a  wretched  life;  for 
two  years  I  have  avoided  almost  all  social  gatherings  because  it  is  impos- 
sible for  me  to  say  to  people:  "I  am  deaf."  If  I  belonged  to  any  other 
profession  it  would  be  easier,  but  in  my  profession  it  is  an  awful  state, 
the  more  since  my  enemies,  who  are  not  few,  what  would  they  say? 
In  order  to  give  you  an  idea  of  this  singular  deafness  of  mine  I  must 
tell  you  that  in  the  theatre  I  must  get  very  close  to  the  orchestra  in 
order  to  understand  the  actor.  If  I  am  a  little  distant  I  do  not  hear 
the  high  tones  of  the  instruments,  singers,  and  if  I  be  but  a  little  farther 
away  I  do  not  hear  at  all.  Frequently  I  can  hear  the  tones  of  a  low 
conversation,  but  not  the  words,  and  as  soon  as  anybody  shouts  it  is  intoler- 
able. It  seems  singular  that  in  conversation  there  are  people  who  do 
not  notice  my  condition  at  all,  attributing  it  to  my  absent-mindedness.' 
Heaven  knows  what  will  happen  to  me.  Vering  says  that  there  will  be 
an  improvement  if  no  complete  cure.  I  have  often — cursed  my  exist- 
ence; Plutarch  taught  me  resignation.  If  possible  I  will  bid  defiance 
to  my  fate,  although  there  will  be  moments  in  my  life  when  I  shall  be 
the  unhappiest  of  God's  creatures.  I  beg  of  you  to  say  nothing  of  my 
condition  to  anybody,  not  even  to  Lorchen;^  I  entrust  the  secret  only 
to  you;  I  would  be  glad  if  you  were  to  correspond  with  Vering  on  the 

*We  shall  see  that  even  Ries  took  no  note  of  his  friend's  infirmity  for  two  years. 
'Eleonore  von  Breuning,  wife  of  Wegeler. 


Greetings  to  Old  Friends  in  Bonn  301 

subject.  If  my  condition  continues  I  will  go  to  you  next  spring;  you 
could  hire  a  house  for  me  in  some  pretty  place  in  the  country  and  for 
half  a  year  I  would  be  a  farmer.  This  might  bring  about  a  change. 
Resignation!  What  a  wretched  refuge — and  yet  the  only  one  open  to 
me.  Forgive  me  that  I  add  these  cares  of  friendship  to  yours  which  is 
sorrowful  enough  as  it  is.  Steffen  Breuning  is  here  now  and  we  are 
together  almost  daily;  it  does  me  so  much  good  to  revive  the  old  emo- 
tions. He  is  really  become  a  good,  splendid  youngster,  who  knows  a 
thing  or  two,  and  like  us  all  has  his  heart  in  the  right  place.  I  have  a 
pretty  domicile  on  the  bastion  which  is  doubly  valuable  because  of  my 
health.  I  believe  I  shall  make  it  possible  for  Breuning  to  come  to  me. 
You  shall  have  your  Antioch'  and  also  many  musical  compositions  of 
mine  if  you  do  not  think  they  will  cost  you  too  much.  Honestly,  your 
love  for  art  still  delights  me  much.  Write  to  me  how  it  is  to  be  done 
and  I  will  send  you  all  my  compositions,  already  a  goodly  number  and 
increasing  daily.  ...  In  return  for  the  portrait  of  my  grandfather  which 
I  beg  of  you  to  send  me  as  soon  as  possible  by  mail-coach,  I  am  sending 
you  that  of  his  grandson,  your  good  and  affectionate  Beethoven,  which 
is  to  be  published  here  by  Artaria,  who,  like  many  others,  including 
art-dealers,  have  often  asked  me  for  it.  I  shall  soon  write  to  Stoffel- 
and  give  him  a  piece  of  my  mind  concerning  his  stubborn  disposition. 
I  will  make  his  ears  ring  with  the  old  friendship,  and  he  shall  promise 
me  by  all  that  is  holy  not  to  offend  you  further  in  your  present  state 
of  unhappiness.  I  shall  also  write  to  good  Lorche.  I  have  never  forgotten 
one  of  you  good  people  even  if  I  did  not  write  to  you;  but  you  know  that 
writing  was  never  my  forte;  the  best  of  my  friends  have  not  had  a  letter 
from  me  in  years,  I  live  only  in  my  notes  and  when  one  composition 
is  scarcely  ended  another  is  already  begun.  As  I  compose  at  present 
I  frequently  work  on  three  or  four  compositions  at  the  same  time.  Write 
to  me  often,  hereafter.  I  will  try  occasionally  to  find  time  to  write  to 
you.  Give  greetings  to  all,  including  the  good  Madame  Councillor.' 
and  tell  her  that  I  still  occasionally  have  a  "raptus."  As  regards  K. 
I  do  not  at  all  wonder  over  his  change.  Fortune  is  round,  like  a  ball, 
and  therefore  does  not  always  drop  on  the  noblest  and  best.  A  word 
about  Ries,  whom  I  greet  heartily;  so  far  as  his  sou  is  concerned  I  shall 
write  you  more  in  detail,  although  I  think  that  he  would  be  more  fortunate 
in  Paris  than  in  Vienna.  Vienna  is  overcrowded  and  the  most  meritorious 
find  it  extremely  difficult  to  maintain  tluMnselves.  In  the  anliimn  or 
winter  I  shall  see  what  lean  do  for  him,  for  at  that  time  lh«'  public  imrries 
back  to  the  city.  Farewell,  good,  faithful  Wegeler!  Be  assured  of  the 
love  and  friendship  of 

Your  Beethoven. 

On  November  16,  he  wrote  in  greater  detail  lo  WVgcler: 

My  goo<l  Wegeler ! 

I  thank  you  for  the  new  cvidenre  of  concern  in   my  behalf, 
all  tho  more  since  I  deserve  so  little  at  your  liatids.     You  want  to  know 

>A  well-known  picture  by  FUger,  Director  of  the  Academy  of  Painting  in  Vienna. 
*Christoph  von  Urcuning. 
'Breuning's  mother.      (Wegeler.) 


302  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

how  it  goes  with  me,  what  I  need;  as  Httle  as  I  like  to  discuss  such  matters 
I  would  rather  do  it  with  you  than  with  others. 

For  several  months  Vering  has  had  vesicatories  placed  on  both 
arms,  which  consist,  as  you  know,  of  a  certain  bark.^  This  is  a  very  un- 
pleasant remedy,  inasmuch  as  I  am  robbed  of  the  free  use  of  my  arms 
(for  a  few  days,  until  the  bark  has  had  its  effect),  to  say  nothing  of  the 
pain.  It  is  true  I  cannot  deny  that  the  ringing  and  sounding  in  my 
ears  has  become  less  than  usual,  especially  in  the  left  ear,  where  my 
deafness  began;  but  my  hearing  has  not  been  improved  and  I  dare  not 
say  that  it  has  not  grown  worse  rather  than  better.  My  bowels  are  in 
a  better  condition,  especially  after  the  lukewarm  baths  for  a  few  days 
when  I  feel  quite  well  for  8  or  10  days,  seldom  needing  a  tonic  for  my 
stomach.  I  am  beginning  to  use  the  herbs  on  the  belly  as  suggested 
by  you.  Vering  will  hear  nothing  of  plunge  baths,  and  I  am  thoroughly 
dissatisfied  with  him;  he  has  much  too  little  care  and  consideration  for 
such  a  disease;  if  I  did  not  go  to  him,  which  costs  me  a  great  deal  of 
trouble,  I  should  not  see  him  at  all.  What  do  you  think  of  Schmidt? 
I  do  not  like  to  change,  but  it  seems  to  me  Vering  is  too  much  of  a  practi- 
tioner to  acquire  new  ideas.  Schmidt  seems  to  me  a  very  different  sort 
of  man  and,  perhaps,  would  not  be  so  negligent.  Miracles  are  told  of 
galvanism;  what  have  you  to  say  about  it?  A  doctor  told  me  that  he 
had  seen  a  deaf  and  dumb  child  recover  his  hearing  (in  Berlin)  again — 
and  a  man  who  had  been  deaf  7  years  got  well.  I  am  living  more  pleas- 
antly since  I  live  more  amongst  men.  You  will  scarcely  believe  how 
lonely  and  sad  my  life  was  for  two  years;  my  bad  hearing  haunted  me 
everywhere  like  a  ghost  and  I  fled  from  mankind  and  seemed  like  a 
misanthrope,  though  far  from  being  one.  This  change  has  been  wrought 
by  a  dear,  fascinating  girl  who  loves  me  and  whom  I  love.  There  have 
been  a  few  blessed  moments  within  the  last  two  years  and  it  is  the  first 
time  that  I  feel  that  marriage  might  bring  me  happiness.  Alas!  she  is 
not  of  my  station — and  now — it  would  be  impossible  for  me  to  marry. 
I  must  still  hustle  about  most  actively.  If  it  were  not  for  my  deafness, 
I  should  before  now  have  travelled  over  half  the  world,  and  that  I  must  do. 
There  is  no  greater  delight  for  me  than  to  practise  and  show  my  art. 
Do  not  believe  that  I  would  be  happy  with  you.  What  is  there  that 
could  make  me  happier?  Even  your  care  would  give  me  pain.  I 
would  see  pity  on  your  faces  every  minute  and  be  only  the  unhappier. 
What  did  those  beautiful  native  regions  bestow  upon  me?  Nothing 
except  the  hope  of  a  better  state  of  health,  which  would  have  come 
had  not  this  affliction  seized  upon  me.  Oh,  if  I  were  rid  of  this 
affliction  I  could  embrace  the  world!  I  feel  that  my  youth  is  just  begin- 
ning and  have  I  not  always  been  ill?  My  physical  strength  has  for  a 
short  time  past  been  steadily  growing  more  than  ever  and  also  my  mental 
powers.  Day  by  day  I  am  approaching  the  goal  which  I  apprehend 
but  cannot  describe.  It  is  only  in  this  that  your  Beethoven  can  live. 
Tell  me  nothing  of  rest.  I  know  of  none  but  sleep,  and  woe  is  me  that 
I  must  give  up  more  time  to  it  than  usual.  Grant  me  but  half  freedom 
from  my  affliction  and  then — as  a  complete,  ripe  man  I  shall  return  to 
you  and  renew  the  old  feeUngs  of  friendship.  You  must  see  me  as  happy 
as  it  is  possible  to  be  here  below — not  unhappy.     No!  I  cannot  endure  it. 

^The  bark  of  Daphne  Mezereum. 


Deafness  and  a  Romantic  Attachment  303 

I  will  take  Fate  by  the  throat;  it  shall  not  wholly  overcome  me.  Oh, 
it  is  so  beautiful  to  live — to  live  a  thousand  times!  I  feel  that  I  am  not 
made  for  a  quiet  life.  You  will  write  to  me  as  soon  as  you  can.  See 
that  Steffen  secures  an  appointment  of  some  kind  in  the  Teutonic  Order. 
Life  here  is  connected  with  too  many  hardships  for  his  health.  Besides, 
he  lives  so  isolated  an  existence  that  I  cannot  see  how  he  is  to  get  along 
in  this  manner.  You  know  the  state  of  affairs  here.  I  will  not  say  that 
social  life  may  not  lessen  his  moodiness;  but  it  is  impossible  to  persuade 
him  to  go  anywhere.  A  short  time  ago  I  had  a  musicale  at  my  home; 
yet  our  friend  Steffen  did  not  come.  Advise  him  to  seek  more  rest 
and  composure.  I  have  done  my  best  in  this  direction;  without  these 
he  will  never  be  again  happy  or  well.  Tell  me  in  your  next  letter  whether 
or  not  it  will  matter  if  I  send  you  a  great  deal  of  my  music;  you  can  sell 
what  you  do  not  need  and  so  get  back  the  post-money — and  my  portrait. 
All  possible  lovely  and  necessary  greetings  to  Lorchen,  ^Nlama  and 
Christoph.  You  love  me  a  little,  do  you  not.'^  Be  assured  of  the  love 
and  friendship  of 

Your 

Beethoven. 

A  commentary  upon  these  letters — the  first  two  excepted, 
which  need  none — might  be  made,  by  a  moderate  indulgence  of 
poetic  fancy,  to  fill  a  volume  of  respectable  size;  but  rigidly  con- 
fined to  prosaic  fact  may  be  reduced  to  reasonable  dimensions. 
Taking  up  the  letters  in  their  order,  the  first  is  that  to  Hoffmeister 
of  April  22nd. 

I.  One  of  the  earliest  projects  of  the  new  firm  of  Hoffmeister 
and  Kiihnel  was  the  publication  of  "J.  Sebastian  Bach's  Theoretical 
and  Practical  Clavier  and  Organ  Works."  The  first  number  con- 
tained: 1,  Toccata  in  D-flat;  2,  fifteen  inventions;  3,  "The  Well- 
Tempered  Clavichord" — in  part;  the  second  number:  1,  15  sym- 
phonies in  tliree  voices;  2,  continuation  of  "The  Well-Tem])ered 
Clavichord."  Now  compare  what  Schindler  says  (third  edition, 
II,  184): 

Of  the  archfathcr  Johann  Sebastian  Bach  the  stock  was  a  very 
small  one  cxrci)t  for  a  few  mofcis  which  had  been  sung  at  the  lion-^c  of 
van  Swieten;  Ijcsides  tlicse  tii<;  majority  of  pieces  were  lhos(>  f.iinilarly 
known,  namely,  the  "Well-Tempered  Clavichord,"  which  showed  signs 
of  diligent  study,  three  volumes  of  exercises,  fifteen  inventions,  fifteen 
symphonies  and  a  toccata  in  1)  minor.  This  collection  of  |)icc«'s  in  (i 
single  volume  is  to  be  found  in  my  possession.  Attached  to  these*  was  a 
sheet  of  paper  on  which,  in  a  strange  handwriting,  was  to  be  n-ad  lli<> 
following  i)assage  from  .].  N.  Forkcl's  book  "On  lh<^  Life  and  Artwork 
of  Johann  Sebastian  Bach":  "The  f)retcnce  that  th(;  musical  art  is  an  art 
for  all  ears  cannot  be  substantiated  by  Bach,  but  is  disjjrovcd  by  the  mere 
existence  and  uniqueness  of  his  works,  which  .seem  to  be  destined  only 
for  connoisseurs.  Only  the  connoisseur  who  can  surmise  \\\v.  inner  or- 
ganization and  feel  it  and  penetrate  to  the  intention  of  the  artist,  which 


304  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

does  nothing  needlessly,  is  privileged  to  judge  here;  indeed,  the  judgment 
of  a  musical  connoisseur  can  scarcely  be  better  tested  than  by  seeing 
how  rightly  he  has  learned  the  works  of  Bach."  On  both  sides  of  this 
passage  there  were  interrogation  points  from  the  thickest  note-pen  of 
Beethoven  as  a  gloss  on  the  learned  historian  and  most  eminent  of  all 
Bachians.  No  Hogarth  could  have  put  a  grimmer  look,  or  a  more 
crushing  expression,  into  an  interrogation  point. 

Nagele,  who  professed  long  to  have  entertained  the  design 
to  publish  Bach's  "most  admirable  works,"  issued  his  proposals 
in  February,  written  with  some  degree  of  asperity  against  "the 
double  competition"  which,  he  had  already  learned,  "was  con- 
fronting" him.  Of  his  edition  of  "The  Well-Tempered  Clavi- 
chord" Beethoven  also  possessed  a  part. 

The  names  left  blank  in  publishing  this  letter  are  easily  sup- 
plied. Baron  Carl  August  von  Liechtenstein,  the  same  to  whom, 
from  1825  to  1832,  was  confided  the  management  of  the  opera  in 
Berlin,  who  died  there  in  1845,  had  been  so  extravagantly  praised 
as  head  of  the  Princely  Music  at  Dessau  that  he  was  called  to 
assume  the  chapelmastership  of  the  Imperial  Opera  in  Vienna 
near  the  end  of  1800.  The  contemporary  reports  of  his  eflSciency 
as  conductor  are  highly  favorable.  He  deserves  the  credit  of 
determining  to  add  to  the  repertory  of  the  Imperial  Opera  Mozart's 
"Zauberflbte"  which,  till  then,  had  been  heard  by  the  Viennese 
only  in  the  little  theatre  Auf-den-Wieden.  It  is  worth  mention- 
ing that  Liechtenstein  brought  with  him  from  Dessau  poor  Neefe's 
daughter  Felice,  now  Mme.  Rosner,  and  that  she  was  the  Pamina 
of  this  performance.  In  the  first  new  work  produced  (April  16th) 
upon  the  imperial  stage  after  Beethoven's  "Prometheus"  music, 
Liechtenstein  introduced  himself  to  the  Vienna  public  in  the  char- 
acter of  a  composer.  It  was  in  his  opera  "Bathmendi,"  completely 
revised.  The  result  was  a  wretched  failure.  Hoflmeister's  long 
and  familiar  acquaintance  with  Vienna,  its  musicians  and  its 
theatres,  would  cause  him  readily  to  appreciate  the  fun  and  wit 
of  Beethoven's  remark  that  the  newly  engaged  chapelmaster  and 
composer  of  the  Imperial  Opera  "seems  to  have  taken  for  an  ideal 
Mr.  M.  (Miiller)" — the  Offenbach  of  that  time — but  without  reach- 
ing "even  him."  Considering  that  the  Baron  was  yet  a  young 
man,  at  the  most  but  three  years  older  than  Beethoven,  the  some- 
what bitter  remark  which  follows  the  jest  appears  natural  enough. 

11.  Beethoven  had  just  cause  for  indignation  in  the  treatment 
which  he  had  received  at  the  hands  of  the  writers  for  the  "Allge- 
meine  Musikalische  Zeitung"  (the  "Leipsic  oxen"  of  his  letter  of 
January  15th).     Hoffmeister  had  evidently  written  him  on  the 


The  Composer  and  His  Early  Critics  305 

subject,  and  his  reticence  in  confining  himself  in  reply  to  a  single 
contemptuous  sentence,  though  writing  in  the  confidence  of  private 
correspondence,  is  something  unexpected;  not  less  so  is  the  manly, 
dignified  and  ingenuous  style  of  his  answer  to  Breitkopf  and 
Hartel  upon  the  same  topic  in  the  letter  of  April  S-^nd.  The 
first  number  of  that  famous  musical  journal  (take  it  for  all  in  all, 
the  noblest  ever  published)  appeared  October  3rd,  1798,  edited  by 
Rochlitz,  published  by  Breitkopf  and  Hartel.  In  the  second  num- 
ber, "Z "  eulogizes  the  Six  Fughettos  of  the  lad,  C.  M.  von 

Weber;  in  the  tenth  young  Hummel's  sonatas.  Op.  3,  are  reviewed; 
in  the  fifteenth  the  name  of  Beethoven  first  appears,  viz. :  in  the 
title  of  three  sonatas  dedicated  to  him  by  Wolfii.  At  length, 
in  No.  23,  March  17th,  1799,  he  is  introduced  to  the  readers  of 
the  journal  as  an  author— not  of  one  or  more  of  the  eight  Trios, 
ten  Sonatas,  the  Quintet  and  Serenade,  which  make  up  the  opera 
1  to  11  then  published — but  as  the  writer  of  the  Twelve  Varia- 
tions on  "Ein  Madchen  oder  Weibchen,"  and  eight  on  "Une  fievre 
brulante." 

The  criticisms  are  a  perfect  reflex  of  the  conventional  musical 
thought  of  the  period  and  can  be  read  now  with  amused  interest, 
at  least.  There  is  no  room  here  for  their  production  in  full.  The 
writer,  "M.  .  .  .,"  recognizes  the  clever  pianoforte  player  in  the 
Variations  but  cannot  see  evidences  in  them  of  equal  cajiacity 
as  a  composer.  He  likes  some  of  them  and  "willingly  admits" 
that  those  on  "Une  fievre  brulante"  are  "more  successful  than 
those  of  ISIozart,  who  in  his  early  youth  also  treated  the  same  sub- 
ject." But  Mozart  did  not  write  the  variations  referred  to,  and 
when  Gretry's  "Richard  Coeur  de  Lion,"  from  which  the  thcino 
was  borrowed,  was  first  performed  in  Paris,  Mozart  was  not  in 
his  "early  youth"  but  28  years  old.  The  critic  descants  with  dis- 
approval on  "certain  harshnesses  in  the  modulations,"  illustrating 
them;  holds  up  Haydn  as  a  model  chooser  of  themes,  and  com- 
mends the  comments  of  Vogler  on  a  set  of  variations  on  "(Jod 
save  the  King"  ])rinted  in  a  little  book  on  the  subject.  Thus 
Beethoven  foinid,  in  tJie  first  recognition  of  hiitisclf  as  a  (•oini)oser 
in  that  journal,  two  compositions  which  he  <iid  not  think  worthy 
of  opus  numbers,  to  the  neglect  of  all  his  better  works,  made  the 
subject  of  censure  and  ridicule  for  the  purpose  of  i)ufling  and  adver- 
tising a  pamphlet  by  Vogler.  Were  his  own  sul)s<'(|uent  Varia- 
tions on  "(k)d  save  tlic  King"  an  effect  of  iJiis  arfich'? 

No.  23  of  the  "Allgcnn-ine  Musikaliscjic  Zciluug"  contains 
nearly  two  pages  from  the  pen  of  Spazi<T  on  Licchtcnsl<'in's  opera, 
"Die  steinerne  Braut,"  and    a   parallel    between  Beethoven  and 


306  OChe  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

Wblffl  as  pianists.     Then  in  the  next  number  the  beautiful  Trio, 
Op.  6,  finds  a  reviewer.      Here  is  the  whole  of  his  article: 

This  Trio,  which  in  part  is  not  easier  but  more  flowing  than  many 
other  pieces  by  the  same  author,  makes  an  excellent  ensemble  on  the 
pianoforte  with  accompaniment.  The  composer  with  his  unusual  har- 
monic knowledge  and  love  for  serious  composition  would  provide  us 
many  things  which  would  leave  many  hand-organ  things  far  in  the  rear, 
even  those  composed  by  famous  men,  if  he  would  but  try  to  write  more 
naturally. 

Could  one  say  less.^* 

The  "Leipsic  oxen"  are  now  ruminating  upon  the  noble 
Sonatas  for  Pianoforte  and  Violin,  Op.  12,  and  No.  36  (June,  1799), 
contains  the  result: 

The  critic,  who  heretofore  has  been  unfamiliar  with  the  pianoforte 
pieces  of  the  author,  must  admit,  after  having  looked  through  these 
strange  sonatas,  overladen  with  difficulties,  that  after  diligent  and  stren- 
uous labor  he  felt  like  a  man  who  had  hoped  to  make  a  promenade  with 
a  genial  friend  through  a  tempting  forest  and  found  himself  barred  every 
minute  by  inimical  barriers,  returning  at  last  exhausted  and  with- 
out having  had  any  pleasure.  It  is  undeniable  that  Mr.  Beethoven 
goes  his  own  gait;  but  what  a  bizarre  and  singular  gait  it  is!  Learned, 
learned  and  always  learned — and  nothing  natural,  no  song.  Yes,  to  be 
accurate,  there  is  only  a  mass  of  learning  here,  without  good  method; 
obstinacy,  but  for  which  we  feel  but  little  interest;  a  striving  for  strange 
modulations,  an  objection  to  customary  associations,  a  heaping  up  of 
difficulties  on  difficulties  till  one  loses  all  patience  and  enjoyment.  Another 
critic  (M.  Z.,  No.  24)  has  said  almost  the  same  thing,  and  the  present  writer 
must  agree  with  him  completely. 

Nevertheless,  the  present  work  must  not  be  rejected  wholly.  It  has 
its  value  and  may  be  of  excellent  use  for  already  practised  pianoforte 
players.  There  are  always  many  who  love  difficulties  in  invention  and 
composition,  what  we  might  call  perversities,  and  if  they  play  these 
Sonatas  with  great  precision  they  may  derive  delight  in  the  music  as 
well  as  an  agreeable  feeling  of  satisfaction.  If  Mr.  v.  B.  wished  to  deny 
himself  a  bit  more  and  follow  the  course  of  nature  he  might,  with  his 
talent  and  industry,  do  a  great  deal  for  an  instrument  which  he  seems  to 
have  so  wonderfully  under  his  control. 

Let  us  pass  on  to  No.  38  of  the  journal,  where  we  find  half  a 
dozen  notices  to  arrest  our  attention.  Variations  by  Schuppanzigh 
for  two  violins  are  "written  in  good  taste  and  conveniently  for 
the  instrument";  variations  for  the  pianoforte  by  Philip  Freund 
are  very  satisfactory  and  "some  among  them  belong  to  the  best  of 
their  kind";  variations  by  Heinrich  Eppinger  for  violin  and  violon- 
cello "deserve  honorable  mention";  but  "X  Variations  pour  le 
clavecin  sur  le  Duo  'La  stessa,  la  stessissima'  par  L.  v.  Beethoven" 
the  critic  "cannot  at  all  be  satisfied  with,  because  they  are  stiff 


Change  in  the  Tone  of  Criticism  307 

and  strained;  and  what  awkward  passages  are  in  them,  where  harsh 
tirades  in  continuous  semitones  create  an  ugly  relationship  and 
the  reverse!  Xo;  it  is  true;  Mr.  van  Beethoven  may  be  able  to 
improvise,  but  he  does  not  know  how  to  write  variations." 

Now,  however,  the  tide  begins  to  turn.  After  an  interval 
of  nearly  four  months,  in  No.  2  of  Vol.  II  (October,  1799),  the 
Sonatas,  Op.  12,  for  Pianoforte  and  Violin  have  a  page  allotted  to 
them.  A  few  sentences  to  show  the  tone  of  the  article  will  suffice; 
for  the  praise  of  Beethoven  needs  no  repetition: 

It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  Mr.  v.  B.  is  a  man  of  genius,  possessed 
of  originality  and  who  goes  his  own  way.  In  this  he  is  assured  by  his 
extraordinary  thoroughness  in  the  higher  style  of  writing  and  his  unusual 
command  of  the  instrument  for  which  he  writes,  he  being  unquestionably 
one  of  the  best  pianoforte  composers  and  players  of  our  time.  His 
abundance  of  ideas,  of  which  a  striving  genius  never  seems  to  be  able  to 
let  go  so  soon  as  it  has  got  possession  of  a  subject  worthy  of  his  fancy, 
only  too  frequently  leads  him  to  pile  up  ideas,  etc.  Fancy,  in  the  extra- 
ordinary degree  which  Beethoven  possesses,  supported,  too,  by  extra- 
ordinary knowledge,  is  a  valuable  possession,  and,  indeed,  an  indispen- 
sable one  for  a  composer,  etc.  The  critic,  who,  after  he  has  tried  to 
accustom  himself  more  and  more  to  Mr.  Beethoven's  manner,  has  learned 
to  admire  him  more  than  he  did  at  first,  can  scarcely  suppress  the  wish 
that  ....  it  might  occur  to  this  fanciful  composer  to  practise  a  certain 

economy  in  his  labors This  tenth  collection,  as  the  critic  has 

said,  seems  deserving  of  high  praise.  Good  invention,  an  earnest,  manly 
style,  ....  well-ordered  thoughts  in  every  part,  difficulties  not  carried 
to  an  excess,  an  entertaining  treatment  of  the  harmony — lift  these  Sonatas 
above  the  many. 

In  Xo.  21  (February,  1800)  justice  is  done  to  the  "Sonate 
pathetique."  Except  a  passing  notice  of  the  ])ublication  of  the 
Quartets,  Op.  18,  made  by  a  correspondent.  Vol.  Ill  of  the  "Allg. 
Mus.  Zeitung"  contains  nothing  on  the  works  of  Beethoven.  So 
that  more  than  a  year  passed  between  the  favoral)le  review  of 
the  "Sonate  pathetique"  and  the  letter  to  Brcitkopf  and  Iliirtel 
of  April  22nd.  The  mild  tone  of  tJiat  missive  is,  therefore,  easily 
explained.  The  tone  of  tlu^  journal  had  completely  changed;  this 
fact,  arul  time,  had  assuaged  Beethoven's  wrath,  aiul  finally  the 
publisliers  in  aj^plying  to  him  for  manuscripts  Jiad  made  the  amende 
honorahlc. 

In  the  number  of  May  20th  begins,  with  a  notice  of  the  two 
Sonatas  for  I'ianoforte  aiul  \'i<)liri.  Op.  2.'J  and  Op.  24.  that  long 
series  of  fair,  candid  and  generously  eulogistic  articles  on  Beet- 
hoven's works  which  culminated  in  July,  ISIO.  in  the  magnifieent 
review  of  the  C  minor  Synq)li()ny  by  K.  '1\  A.  Hoffmann — a  labor  of 
love  that  laid  the  foundation  of  a  new  school  of  musical  criticism. 


308  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

III.  Upon  the  last  topic  of  the  letter  to  Breitkopf  and  Hartel 
something  remains  to  be  said.  It  was  in  the  "Intelligenzblatt" 
of  the  "Allg.  Mus.  Zeit."  for  May,  1800,  that  Rochlitz  made  a 
touching  appeal  for  aid  for  the  last  survivor  of  Sebastian  Bach's 
children.  "This  family,"  says  he,  "has  now  died  out  down  to 
the  single  daughter  of  the  great  Sebastian  Bach,  and  this  daughter 
is  now  very  old.  .  .  .  This  daughter  is  starving,  .  .  .  The 
publishers  of  the  'Musik  Zeitung'  and  I  offer  to  obligate  if  any- 
body shall  entrust  us  with  money  to  forward  it  in  the  most  expe- 
ditious and  careful  manner,  and  to  give  account  of  it  in  the  Tntelli- 
genzblatter'."  The  first  account  is  in  the  paper  for  December. 
Regina  Susanna  Bach  publishes  her  "thanks"  for  96  thalers  and 
5  silbergroschens  contributed,  as  the  "careful  account"  which  is 
appended  shows,  by  sixteen  persons,  four  of  whom,  in  Vienna, 
sent  more  than  80  florins,  leaving  certainly  but  a  small  sum  as' 
the  offering  of  "her  Germany."  One  other — and  only  one — 
account  appears,  in  June,  1801.  It  is  an  acknowledgment  by 
Rochlitz,  Breitkopf  and  Hartel  and  Fraulein  Bach  of  having 
received  on  May  10th  the  considerable  sum  of  307  florins  Viennese 
(the  equal  of  200  thalers) 

through  the  Viennese  musician  Andreas  Streicher,  collected  by  Streicher 
and  Count  Fries.  At  the  same  time  the  famous  Viennese  composer  Herr 
van  Beethoven  declares  that  he  will  publish  one  of  his  newest  works 
solely  for  the  benefit  of  the  daughter  of  Bach  ....  so  that  the  good  old 
lady  may  derive  the  benefit  of  it  from  time  to  time.  Therefore  he 
nobly  urges  that  the  publication  be  hastened  as  much  as  possible  lest 
the  daughter  of  Bach  die  before  his  object  be  attained. 

Whether  or  not  any  such  work  was  published  is  not  known. 
Unsupported  conjectures  as  to  the  names  left  blank  in  the  letter 
to  Amenda  when  originally  printed  in  the  "Signale"  are  of  no 
use,  and  if  made  might  hereafter  expose  the  conjecturer  to  just 
ridicule;  there  remain,  then,  but  two  topics  which  require  a  word 
of  comment — ^the  year  omitted  in  the  date,  and  the  friend  of  his 
youth  of  whom  Beethoven  speaks  in  such  strong  terms  of  affec- 
tion— both  of  which,  however,  may  better  be  disposed  of,  in 
what  is  to  be  said  upon  the  letter  to  Wegeler  of  June  29th. 

This  long,  important  and  very  interesting  paper  affords  an 
illustration  of  the  readiness  with  which  a  conjecture  may  be  ac- 
cepted as  a  truth,  until  one  is  compelled  to  subject  it  to  rigid 
examination.  Thus,  in  using  this  letter  for  a  particular  purpose,^ 
Wegeler's  date  "most  probably  1800"  was  accepted,  as  it  had 
universally  been  for  forty  years,  without  question;  but  the  moment 

^The  attempt  to  fix  the  chronology  of  Beethoven's  works. 


Arrival  in  Vienna  of  Anton  Reicha  309 

it  became  necessary  to  subject  its  entire  contents  to  careful 
scrutiny,  for  the  purposes  of  this  biography,  the  error  became  at 
once  so  apparent  as  really  to  awaken  a  feeling  of  mortification 
for  the  temporary  blindness  that  allowed  it  to  pass  unquestioned. 
The  allusions  to  Susanna  Bach  ("You  see  it  is  very  convenient, 
etc."),  to  his  change  of  lodgings,  to  the  publication  of  his  portrait 
by  Artaria,  and  (in  the  second  letter)  to  the  change  of  his  physicians, 
are  all  more  or  less  indicative  of  the  true  date,  1801,  while  the 
mention  of  Breuning's  return  to  Vienna  is  proof  positive.  Finally, 
the  similarity,  almost  identity,  of  passages  in  the  Amenda  letter 
to  portions  of  this,  shows  that  the  two  belong  to  the  same  June. 
Thus  we  at  last  have  the  gratification  of  seeing  these  two  valuable 
documents  fall  easily  and  naturally  into  their  true  place  in  Beet- 
hoven's history.  It  is  worth  noting  that  this  Wegeler  letter  offers 
— at  the  least,  appears  to  offer — an  example  of  Beethoven's  occa- 
sional loose  way  of  making  statements;  as  in  the  letter  to  Breit- 
kopf  and  Hiirtel  he  writes  as  if  he  had  half  a  dozen  unpublished 
concertos  on  hand,  so  now  he  speaks  of  having  "already  given 
several"  Ahademien;  and  yet  the  most  careful  research  has  failed 
to  show  that  his  concerts  were  at  this  time  more  than  llu'ce  in 
number  in  all;  or  that  he  had  ever  even  given  more  than  one 
public  concert  in  Vienna.  Perhaps,  however,  he  may  have  included 
those  given  in  Prague  in  his  "several."  As  nothing  can  be  added 
to  his  account  of  his  bad  health  and  incipient  deafness,  we  pass  to 
the  passages  upon  Breuning  and  Ries. 

IV.  The  opinion  was  before  expressed,  that  the  "man"  spoken 
of  in  the  Amenda  letter  as  having  come  to  Vienna,  to  Beethoven's 
comfort,  was  Anton  Reicha.^  They  were  alike  in  age-  Reicha 
being  but  a  few  months  the  elder — and  alike  in  tastes  and  pursuits. 
Reicha  was  superior  in  the  culture  of  schools  and  in  what 
is  called  musical  learning;  Beethoven  in  genius  and  originality 
as  a  comj)oser  and  in  skill  as  a  pianist.  The  talents  of  each 
commanded  the  respect  of  the  other.  Both  were  aspiring,  aml)i- 
tious,  yet  diverged  sufficiently  in  their  views  of  art  to  prevent 
all  invidious  rivalry.  Ifeiclia  gained  a  repniation  which,  in 
process  of  time,  secured  him  the  higli  position  which  he  held  during 
the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life — that  of  IMehul's  successor  in 
the  Paris  Conservatoire. 

To  Beethoven,  who  was  still  digesting  plans  for  musical  tours, 
the  experience  of  }u"s  friend  must  have  been  of  great  value;  not 
less  to  Reicha  the  experience  of  Beethoven  in  Vienna.     Hut    he 

•The  German  editor  of  Vol.  II  insists  fli.it  it  was  not  Reicha  but  Stcphan  von 
Breuning — though  he  permits  all  of  Thayer's  argument  to  stand. 


310  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

was  by  no  means  dependent  upon  Beethoven  for  an  introduction 
into  the  highest  musical  circles  of  the  capital.  It  has  been  shown 
in  a  previous  chapter  how  freely  the  salons  were  opened  to  every 
talented  young  musician,  but  beyond  this  he  bore  a  well-known 
name  and  the  veteran  Haydn  kindly  remembered  him  as  one  of 
the  promising  young  men  who  had  paid  him  their  respects  in 
Bonn.  His  opera  "Ubaldi"  was  performed  in  Prince  Lobkowitz's 
palace,  and  this  probably  led  to  his  introduction  to  the  Empress 
Maria  Theresia,  who  gave  him  an  Italian  libretto,  "Argene  Regina 
di  Granata,"  for  composition,  in  which  the  Empress  herself  sang 
a  part  at  the  private  performance  in  the  palace. 

Thus  Beethoven  and  Reicha  again  met  and  lived  on  equal 
terms.  "We  spent  fourteen  years  together,"^  said  the  latter,  "as 
closely  united  as  Orestes  and  Pylades,  and  were  always  together 
in  our  youth.  After  an  eight  years'  separation  we  met  each  other 
again  in  Vienna  and  confided  all  our  experiences  to  each  other." 

V.  When  W^egeler  says  of  Stephan  von  Breuning,  "But  he 
had,  with  short  interruptions,  spent  his  life  in  closest  association 
with  Beethoven  from  his  tenth  year  to  his  death,"  he  says  too 
much;  and  too  little  when  he  writes  that  Beethoven  "had  once 
broken  for  a  considerable  space  with  Breuning  (and  with  what 
friend  did  he  not?)"  For  besides  the  quarrel,  which  Ries  describes, 
there  came  at  last  so  decided  a  separation  that  Breuning's  name 
disappears  from  our  history  for  a  period  of  eight  to  ten  years — 
and  that,  too,  not  from  his  fault. 

It  was  impossible  that  the  two  should  have  met  in  1801  on 
such  terms  as  those  on  which  they  had  parted  in  1796.  Breuning 
had  passed  this  interval  of  five  years  in  a  small  provincial  town, 
Mergentheim,  in  the  monotonous  routine  of  a  petty  office,  in  the 
service  of  a  semi-military,  semi-religious  institution  which  had  so 
sunk  in  grandeur  and  power  as  to  be  little  more  than  a  venerable 
name — a  relic  of  the  past.  In  the  same  service  he  had  now  re- 
turned to  Vienna.  How  Beethoven  had  been  employed,  and  how 
he  had  risen,  we  have  seen.  Thus,  their  relative  positions  in 
society  had  completely  changed.  Beethoven  now  moved  famil- 
iarly in  circles  to  which  Breuning  could  have  access  only  by  his 
or  some  other  friend's  protection. 

In  view  of  the  relation  in  which  Wegeler  stood  to  the  Breuning 
family,  Beethoven  might  well  have  said  more  about  "Steffen," 
but  not  easily  less.  Even  here  something  of  patronizing  conde- 
scension in  the  tone  makes   itself   felt,  which  becomes  far  too 

iProm  1785  to  the  end  of  October,  1792;  and  from  the  winter  1800-'01  to  1808; 
two  periods  of  seven  years  each,  separated  by  the  eight  years'  interval. 


Beethoven  and  Stephan  von  Breuning  311 

pronounced  when  he  speaks  of  him  in  the  second  letter — that  of 
November.  Reading  these  passages  in  connection  with  those 
unlucky  sentences  in  the  Amenda  letter,  which  have  been  censured 
in  another  place,  one  feels  that  Breuning  had  been  made  sensible, 
to  a  painful  degree,  how  great  his  friend  had  grown.  Wegeler 
himself  is  struck  by  Breuning's  non-appearance  at  Beethoven's 
private  concert,  and  remarks:  "He  must  have  felt  his  dis- 
appointment with  this  old  friend  all  the  more,  since  Breuning 
had  been  developed  by  Father  Ries  from  an  amateur  to  a  most 
admirable  violinist,  and  had  several  times  played  in  electoral 
concerts." 

The  more  thoroughly  the  character  of  Breuning  is  examined, 
not  only  in  his  subsequent  relations  to  Beethoven  but  also  in 
the  light  of  all  that  is  known  of  him  as  a  public  official,  as  a  hus- 
band, father  and  friend,  the  higher  he  stands  as  a  man.  Under 
circumstances,  in  his  office,  fitted  to  try  his  patience  beyond  the 
ordinary  limits  of  endurance,  he  never  failed  to  bear  himself 
nobly,  as  a  man  of  high  principle,  ever  ready  to  sacrifice  private 
and  personal  considerations  to  the  call  of  duty.  In  private  life 
he  was  invariably  just,  generous,  tenacious  of  the  right.  What- 
ever causes  he  may  have  had  on  divers  occasions  to  complain 
of  Beethoven,  we  learn  nothing  of  them  from  his  correspondence 
so  far  as  it  has  been  made  public,  unless  a  single  passage  cited  by 
Wegeler  be  thought  an  exception;  yet  this  is  but  the  expression 
of  heartfelt  sorrow  and  compassion — not  one  word  of  anger.  And 
we  know  that  Beethoven,  when  in  distress,  never  turned  to  liim 
in  vain  for  sympathy  nor  for  such  aid  as  was  in  his  ])ow(t  to 
give.  In  the  miserable  years  to  come  the  reader  will  learn  enougli 
of  Breuning,  though  by  no  means  a  prominent  figure,  to  feel 
respect  and  admiration  for  his  character,  and  to  see  for  himself 
how  unjust  to  him  were  those  letters — written  by  Beethoven 
under  the  impulse  of  short-lived  choler — whicli  Ries  has  con- 
tributed to  the  "Notizen."  There  is  some  tempt.Mtion  fo  think 
that  Breuning  was  of  those  whom  Beethoven  "estimated  at  only 
what  they  were  worth  to  liim";  but  let  us  trust  that,  sjionid 
ever  the  blanks  in  tlie  Amenda  letter  be  filK'd  from  the  autograph, 
his  name  will  not  be  found — certainly  not,  if  the  conjecture  as 
to  the  time  of  Amenda's  residence  in  Vienna  prove  correct.  It 
is  difficult  to  avoid  saying  either  too  nmch  or  too  little  on  such  a 
topic  as  this  of  Breuning  and  Beethoven  -tostrike  the  just  medium 
in  the  strength  of  the  language  user];  l)ut  tlie  subject  has  been 
made  the  occasion  of  so  much  injudicious  comment,  it  was  not 
possible  to  pass  it  over. 


312  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

VI.  The  'Tntelligenz-Blatt"  of  Bonn,  under  date  of  Novem- 
ber 30,  1784,  announces  the  baptism,  on  the  preceding  day,  of 
Ferdinand,  son  of  Franz  Ries. 

Like  many  others  who  have  become  eminent  musicians,  his  taste 
and  capabihties  manifested  themselves  very  early;  as,  at  five  years  old, 
he  began  his  musical  education  under  his  father,  and  afterwards  under 
Bernhard  Romberg,  the  celebrated  violoncello  player. 

The  French  invasion,  the  departure  of  Romberg  in  conse- 
quence (1794)  from  Bonn,  and  the  pecuniary  straits  to  which 
Franz  Ries  was  reduced, 

prevented  much  attention  being,  for  some  time,  paid  to  the  instruction 

of  his  son At  last,  when  he  was  about  thirteen  ("he  had  reached 

the  age  of  13  years",  says  the  "Rheinischer  Antiquarius"),  a  friend  of  his 
father  took  him  to  Arnsberg  in  Westphalia,  for  the  purpose  of  learning 
thoroughbass  and  composition  from  an  organ-player  in  that  neighbor- 
hood  The  pupil  proved  so  much  the  more  able  to  teach  of  the 

two,  that  the  organist  was  obliged  to  give  the  matter  up  at  once  and 
proposed  to  young  Ries  to  teach  him  the  violin  instead.  As  a  pis-aller, 
this  was  accepted;  and  Ries  remained  at  Arnsberg  about  nine  months, 
after  which  he  returned  home.  Here  he  remained  upwards  of  two  years, 
improving  himself  in  his  art  with  great  industry.  ...  At  length,  in 
the  year  1801,  he  went  to  Munich  with  the  same  friend  who  had  formerly 
taken  him  to  Arnsberg.  Here  he  was  thrown  upon  his  own  resources; 
and  throughout  the  trying  and  dispiriting  circumstances  which,  with 
slight  exception,  attended  the  next  years  of  his  life,  he  appears  to  have 
displayed  a  firmness,  an  energy,  and  an  independence  of  mind,  the  more 
honorable,  perhaps,  from  the  very  early  age  at  which  they  were  called 
into  action.  At  Munich,  Mr.  Ries  was  left  by  his  friend,  with  little 
money  and  but  very  slender  prospects.  He  tried  for  some  time  to  pro- 
cure pupils,  but  was  at  last  reduced  to  copy  music  at  three-pence  per 
sheet.  With  this  scanty  pittance,  he  not  only  continued  to  keep  him- 
self free  from  embarrassments,  but  saved  a  few  ducats  to  take  him  to 
Vienna,  where  he  had  hopes  of  patronage  and  advancement  from  Beet- 
hoven  He  set  out  from  Munich  with  only  seven  ducats  and 

reached  Vienna  before  they  were  exhausted! 

The  citations  are  from  that  noble  musical  journal  the  London 
"Harmonicon,"  and  belong  to  an  article  on  Ries  published  in 
March,  1824.  They  correspond  perfectly  to  a  sketch  of  Ries's 
life  in  the  "Rheinischer  Antiquarius,"  although  there  are  suflScient 
differences  to  show  that  the  materials  of  the  two  articles  were 
drawn  from  independent  sources.  The  "Antiquarius"  (Part  III, 
Vol.  II,  p.  62),  however,  dates  Ries's  arrival  in  Munich  1800,  the 
"Harmonicon"  giving  it  1801.  But  the  difference  is  rather 
apparent  than  real,  since  the  winter  of  1800-1801  includes  them 
both,  and  is  therefore  of  very  little  import.     But  when  Ries,  in 


Beethoven  and  Ferdinand  Ries  313 

the  "Xotizen"  (p.  75),  says:  "On  my  arrival  in  Vienna  in  1800," 
the  discrepancy  is  one  not  to  be  passed  over  without  investigation; 
not  that  it  is  a  matter  of  much  interest  in  itself  when  a  boy  of 
fifteen  or  sixteen  years  became  a  pupil  of  Beethoven,  but  because 
of  its  bearing  upon  other  and  weightier  questions  in  the  chronol- 
ogy of  the  master's  life  and  works.     Which,  then,  is  correct? 

x\yrton,  the  editor  of  the  "Harmonicon,"  could  have  obtained 
(in  18'-24)  the  date  for  his  article  only  from  Ries  himself,  as  in 
fact  the  internal  evidence  proves  him  to  have  done.  It  was  pub- 
lished after  the  announcement  of  Ries's  farewell  concert  in  London, 
with  the  evident  intention  of  aiding  in  securing  its  success,  and 
must  have  been  presented  to  Ries  for  revision  before  it  was  sent 
to  press.  Ries,  therefore,  must  have  erred  by  a  lapse  of  memory, 
in  1824  as  he  admitted  he  may  have  done,  or  in  December,  1837, 
when  he  wrote  the  "Xotizen."  As  for  the  wTiter,  he  has  no  hesi- 
tation in  accepting  September  or  October,  1801,  as  the  date  of 
Ries's  advent  in  Vienna.  Thus  the  last  of  these  errors — that  of 
Wegeler  in  his  date  of  the  letter  of  June  29;  that  of  Schindler 
(in  his  first  editions)  in  the  date  of  the  "Christus  am  011)erg"; 
and  this  of  Ries — which  had  thrown  all  this  period  of  Beethoven's 
history  into  a  confusion  that  seemed  inextricable,  is  satisfactorily 
rectified,  and  the  current  of  the  narrative  now  flows  as  clear  and 
unimpeded  here  as  in  any  other  part. 

Let  us  return  to  it.     The  "Harmonicon"  proceeds: 

Ries'  hopes  from  his  father's  early  friend,  were  not  disappointed; 
Beethoven  received  him  with  a  cordial  kindness,  too  rare,  alas!  from  nuMi 
who  have  risen  to  eminence  and  distinction  towards  those  whose  claim 
upon  them  is  founded  on  the  reminiscences  of  their  humble  state.  He 
at  once  took  the  young  man  under  his  immediate  care  and  tuition; 
advanced  him  pecuniary  loans,  which  his  subsequent  coikIikI  com  cried 
to  gifts;  and  allowed  him  to  be  the  first  to  take  the  title  of  pupil  and 
appear  in  public  as  such. 

So  also  the  "Notizen": 

In  the  letter  of  recommendation  from  my  father  there  had  been 
opened  a  small  credit  account  to  be  uscnl  in  case  of  need.  I  never  made 
use  of  it  but,  when  a  few  times  Beethoven  <liscovered  that  I  was  .short  of 
funds,  he  .sent  me  moix-y  without  being  asked  and  never  wanted  to  take 
it  back.  He  was  really  very  fond  of  me.  of  which  fact  he  once  in  his 
absent-minfledness  gave  me  a  very  comical  proof.  Once  when  I  rcturnc(l 
from  Silesia,  where  I  had  spent  .some  time  at  the  country-seat  «)f  J'rmre 
Lichnowsky  as  pianist  on  the  recommendation  of  n<'<>thovcn,  and  entered 
his  room  he  was  about  to  shave  himself  and  liad  lathered  his  face  up 
to  his  eyes — for  so  far  his  fearfully  stiff  beard  reached.  He  jumped  up. 
embraced  me  cordially  and  thereby  transferred  .so  much  of  the  hither 


314  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

from  his  left  cheek  to  my  right  that  he  had  none  left.  Did  we  laugh? 
Beethoven  must  also  have  learned  privately  how  matters  had  gone  with 
me;  for  he  was  acquainted  with  many  of  my  youthful  escapades,  with 
which  he  only  teased  me.  In  many  cases  he  disclosed  a  really  paternal 
interest  in  me. 

"But  with  all  his  kindness"  continues  the  "Harmonicon," 

Beethoven  would  not  give  Ries  instruction  in  thoroughbass  or  com- 
position. He  said  it  required  a  particular  gift  to  explain  them  with 
clearness  and  precision,  and,  besides  that,  Albrechtsberger  was  the 
acknowledged  master  of  all  composers.  This  latter  had  almost  given  up 
teaching,  being  very  old,  and  was  persuaded  to  take  a  new  pupil  only  by 
the  strong  recommendation  of  Beethoven  and  by  the  temptation  of  a 
ducat  a  lesson.  Poor  Ries'  ducats  ran  only  to  the  number  of  28 ;  after 
this  he  was  driven  to  his  books  again. 

So  it  appears  that  he  was  Beethoven's  pupil  only  upon  the 
pianoforte.  The  manner  in  which  he  was  taught  is  also  described 
in  the  "Notizen" : 

When  Beethoven  gave  me  a  lesson  I  must  say  that  contrary  to 
his  nature  he  was  particularly  patient.  I  was  compelled  to  attribute 
this  and  his  friendly  disposition,  which  was  seldom  interrupted,  chiefly 
to  his  great  affection  and  love  for  my  father.  Thus,  sometimes,  he  would 
permit  me  to  repeat  a  thing  ten  times,  or  even  oftener.  In  the  Variations 
dedicated  to  the  Princess  Odescalchi  (Op.  34),  I  was  obliged  to  repeat 
the  last  Adagio  variations  almost  entirely  seventeen  times;  yet  he  was 
still  dissatisfied  with  the  expression  of  the  little  cadenza,  although  I 
thought  I  played  it  as  well  as  he.  On  this  day  I  had  a  lesson  which 
lasted  nearly  two  hours.  If  I  made  a  mistake  in  passages  or  missed 
notes  arid  leaps  which  he  frequently  wanted  emphasized  he  seldom  said 
anything;  but  if  I  was  faulty  in  expression,  in  crescendos,  etc.,  or  in  the 
character  of  the  music,  he  grew  angry  because,  as  he  said,  the  former  was 
accidental  while  the  latter  disclosed  lack  of  knowledge,  feeling,  or  atten- 
tiveness.  The  former  slips  very  frequently  happened  to  him  even  when 
he  was  playing  in  public. 

"I  often  played  on  two  fortepianos  with  Ries,"  says  Czerny, 
"among  other  things  the  Sonata,  Op.  47,  which  had  been  arranged 
for  two  pianofortes.     Ries  played  very  fluently,  clear  but  cold."^ 

Here  we  have  a  key  to  the  identity  of  so  many  of  Ries's  and 
Czerny 's  facts  and  anecdotes  of  those  years,  written  out  by  them 
independently;  the  latter,  as  he  assures  us,  having  first  become 
acquainted  with  the  "Notizen"  through  the  quotations  of  Court 
Councillor  Lenz.  The  two  brilliant  boys,  thrown  so  much  together, 
w^ould  never  weary  of  talking  of  their  famous  master.  The  stories 
of  his  oddities  and  eccentricities,   minute  facts  relating   to   his 

'From  O.  Jahn's  posthumous  papers. 


The  Recollections  of  Ries  and  Czerny         315 

compositions,  were,  therefore,  common  property;  and  it  is  clear 
that  some  which  in  this  manner  became  known  to  Ries  at  last 
assumed  in  his  memory  the  aspect  of  personal  experiences  and, 
as  such,  are  related  in  the  "Xotizen."  The  author  of  this  work 
once  introduced  an  incident  into  something  that  he  was  writing, 
under  the  full  conviction  of  having  been  an  actor  in  it,  which  he 
now  knows  was  only  related  to  him  by  his  brother.  Yet  only 
some  six  or  seven  years  had  elapsed,  whereas  Ries  wrote  of  a 
period  which  ended  thirty-five  years  before. 
Another  remark  of  Czerny 's  is  as  follows: 

WTien  the  French  were  in  Vienna  for  the  first  time,  in  1805,  Beet- 
hoven visited  a  number  of  officers  and  generals  who  were  musical  and 
for  whom  he  played  Gluck's  "Iphigenia  in  Tauris"  from  the  score,  to 
which  they  sang  the  choruses  and  songs  not  at  all  ill.  1  begged  the 
score  from  him  and  at  home  wrote  out  the  pianoforte  score  as  I  had  heard 
him  play  it.  I  still  have  this  arrangement  (Nov^emher,  185'-2).  From 
that  time  I  date  my  style  of  arranging  orchestral  works,  and  he  was 
always  wholly  satisfied  with  my  arrangements  of  his  symphonies,  etc. 

A  lad  who,  though  not  yet  fifteen  years  old,  was  able  to  write 
a  pianoforte  score  of  such  an  opera  after  a  single  hearing,  certainly 
deserved  the  testimonial  to  his  talent  which,  tliough  written  by 
another  hand,  was  signed  at  the  time  by  Beethoven  and  sealed. 
The  testimonial,  in  the  possession  of  the  Gesellschaft  der  Musik- 
freunde  in  Vienna,  runs  as  follows: 

We,  the  undersigned,  cannot  withhold  from  the  lad  Carl  Czerny, 
who  has  made  such  extraordinary  progress  on  the  pianoforte,  far  sur- 
passing what  might  be  expected  from  a  boy  of  f<Mirtcen  years,  that  for 
this  reason,  and  also  because  of  his  marvelous  memory,  he  is  deserving,'  of 
all  possible  support,  the  more  since  his  parents  have  expended  their 
fortune  in  the  education  of  this  promising  son. 

Vienna,  December  7, 1805. 

Ludwig   van   Beethoven.     (Seal) 

The  master  had  early  and  wisely  warned  Jiim  against  a  too 
free  use  of  his  extraordinary  memory.  "My  nuisical  memory,'* 
Czerny  writes, 

enabled  me  to  play  the  Beethovcnian  works  by  heart  without  exception, 
and  during  the  years  1H01-18().5  I  was  obhp-d  to  pl.iy  lhes<>  works  in 
this  manner  at  T'rinee  Liehnowsky's  onc-e  or  twie<;  a  w<-ek,  Ur.  calling  out 
only  tin;  desired  opus  rMnnl)er.  FJ<-ethoven,  who  w.us  |)resent^  a  few 
times,  was  not  pleased.  "Even  if  he  i)lays  correctly  on  the  wiiol.-."  he  re- 
marked, "he  will  for^,'et  in  this  manner  tlie  (piiek  survey,  the  a  vista- 
playing  and,  o<;c{isionally,  the  correct  expression." 

Very  neat  is  the  anecdote  which  Czerny  relates  in  tin-  "Wiener 
Musikzeitung"    of    September    28t]i,    184.5,    how,    after    he    had 


316  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

outgrown  his  studies,  he  was  deservedly  reprimanded  for  a  few 
additions  which  he  made  on  his  own  account  in  one  of  his  mas- 
ter's works. 

On  the  whole  he  was  pleased  with  my  performance  of  his  works 
....  but  he  scolded  me  for  every  blunder  with  a  kind  freedom  which 
I  shall  never  forget.  When  once,  for  instance,  I  played  the  Quintet  with 
Wind-Instruments  with  Schuppanzigh,  I  permitted  myself,  in  a  spirit  of 
youthful  carelessness,  many  changes,  in  the  way  of  adding  difficulties  to 
the  music,  the  use  of  the  higher  octave,  etc. — Beethoven  took  me  severely 
to  task  in  the  presence  of  Schuppanzigh,  Linke  and  the  other  players. 
The  next  day  I  received  the  following  letter  from  him,  which  I  copy  care- 
fully from  the  original  draft: 

"Dear  Czerny: 

"To-day  I  cannot  see  you,  but  to-morrow  I  will  call  on  you  myself 
to  have  a  talk  with  you.  I  burst  forth  so  yesterday  that  I  was  sorry 
after  it  had  happened;  but  you  must  pardon  that  in  an  author  who 
would  have  preferred  to  hear  his  work  exactly  as  he  wrote  it,  no  matter 
how  beautifully  you  played  in  general.  I  will  make  loud  amends  at  the 
Violoncello  Sonata  (I  was  to  play  his  Violoncello  Sonata  with  Linke  the 
next  week).  Be  assured  that  as  an  artist  I  have  the  greatest  wishes  for 
your  success  and  will  always  try  to  show  myself, 

Your 

true  Friend 

Beethoven." 

This  letter  did  more  than  anything  else  to  cure  me  of  the  desire 
to  make  any  changes  in  the  performance  of  his  works,  and  I  wish  that 
it  might  have  the  same  influence  on  all  pianists. 


Chapter  XXI 


Beethoven's  Love-Affairs — The  Letter  to  the  "Immortal 
Beloved" — Giulietta  Giiicciardi — Therese  Brunswick — 
Countess  Erdody — Therese  Malfatti — Confused  Chronol- 
ogies— Many  Contradictory  Theories  and  Speculations. 

IN  the  letter  dated  November  16,  Beethoven's  strong  expres- 
sions of  desire  and  intention  to  exhibit  his  powers  as  pianist  and 
composer  in  other  cities,  are  striking  and  worthy  of  the  reader's 
attention,  yet  need  no  comment;  but  a  new  topic  there  introduced 
must  be  treated  at  some  length,  not  because  it  is  of  very  great 
importance  in  itself,  but  as  an  episode  in  the  master's  life  which 
has  employed  so  many  pens  and  upon  which  biographer  and 
novelist  seem  to  have  contended  which  could  make  the  most  of 
it  and  paint  it  in  the  highest  romantic  colors.^ 

The  sentences  referred  to  are:  "I  am  living  more  pleasantly 
since.  I  live  more  amongst  men.  .  .  .  This  change  has  been 
wrought  by  a  dear  fascinating  girl,  etc."  Notwitlistanding  all 
that  has  been  written  on  this  text  there  is  little  reason  to  think 
that  Beethoven's  passion  for  this  particularly  fascinating  girl  was 
more  engrossing  or  lasting  than  at  other  periods  for  otlu-rs,  altJiough 
peculiar  circumstances  subse(|uently  kei)t  it  more  alive  in  liis 
memory.     The  testimony  of  Wegeler,  Brcuning,  Romberg,  Ries, 

'The  Editor  of  this  English  edition  of  Thayer's  "Life  of  Beethoven"  is  unwilling 
to  admit  that  the  author's  arKiimont  against  the  Connlrss  Guiceiardi  as  the  la.ly  to 
whom  the  famous  love-letter  which  is  the  hasis  of  the  episodf  n-fcrri-d  to  by  the  author, 
has  l)<<n  disproved;  or  that  the  bur<l<-n  of  [)ro«f  is  against  Thayt-r's  Ih.-ory  ( niv.-r  put 
forward  as  a  demonstrated  fact,  hut  rather  as  what  tlie  s<i<ntists  <all  a  "working  hyp<»lh- 
esis")  that  the  ohject  of  his  love  at  the  time  the  letter  was  written  was  the  ('..nntes.s 
Therese  Hrunswiek  (or  Brunsvik,  as  the  Hungarian  hrnneh  of  the  family  wrote  the 
name).  The  question  is  one  of  great  diflfi<ully.  however,  and  the  Editor  has  thought 
it  wise,  expedient  and  only  fair  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  Thayer,  to  hring  together  the 
dxsjrrta  mcmhra  of  his  argument  as  they  are  to  he  found  in  the  horjy  of  Vol.  II  and  the 
body  and  Api>endiecs  of  Vol.  Ill  of  theoriginal  (ierman  edition,  in  a  eonlinuous  chapter, 
and  then  to  add.  in  the  form  of  a  comprehensive  postscript,  an  ahstra.  t  of  the  opinion 
of  others  and  some  suggestions  of  his  own  touching  the  woman  who.  though  not  yet 
definitively  identified,  wears  the  halo  which  streams  from  the  title  which  Beethoven 
bestowed  iipon  her— his  "Immortal  Beloved."  It  will  he  observed  that  the  question 
turns  largely  on  an  adjustment  of  dates — a  necessary  procedure  in  other  affairs  of 
Beethoven's  besides  those  of  his  heart. 

(317) 


318  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

has  been  cited  to  the  point  that  Beethoven  "was  never  without 
a  love,  and  generally  deeply  engrossed  in  it." 

In  Vienna  (says  Wegeler)  at  least  as  long  as  I  lived  there,  Beethoven 
always  had  a  love-affair  on  his  hands,  and  occasionally  made  conquests 
which,  though  not  impossible,  might  have  been  difficult  of  achievement 

to  many  an  Adonis I  will  add  that,  so  far  as  I  know,  every  one 

of  his  sweethearts  belonged  to  the  higher  social  stations. 

So,  also,  friends  of  Beethoven  with  whom  Jahn  conversed 
in  1852.  Thus  according  to  Carl  Czerny  he  was  said  to  have  been 
in  love  with  a  Countess  Keglevics,  who  was  not  generally  considered 
handsome.  The  Sonata  in  E-flat,  Op.  7  (dedicated  to  her),  was 
called  "Die  Verliebte"  ("The  Maiden,  or  Woman,  in  Love").  Dr. 
Bertolini,  friend  and  physician  of  Beethoven  from  1806  to  1816, 
said:  "Beethoven  generally  had  a  flame;  the  Countess  Guicciardi, 
Mme.  von  Frank,  Bettina  Brentano  and  others."  He  was  not 
insensible  to  ladies  fair  and  frail.  Dolezalek,  a  music  teacher 
who  came  to  Vienna  in  1800  and  was  the  master's  admirer  and 
friend  to  the  last,  adds  the  particular  that  "he  never  showed  that 
he  was  in  love." 

In  short,  Beethoven's  experience  was  precisely  that  of  many 
an  impulsive  man  of  genius,  who  for  one  cause  or  another  never 
married  and  therefore  never  knew  the  calm  and  quiet,  but  un- 
changing, affection  of  happy  conjugal  life.  One  all-absorbing  but 
temporary  passion,  lasting  until  its  object  is  married  to  a  more 
favored  lover,  is  forgotten  in  another  destined  to  end  in  like 
manner,  until,  at  length,  all  faith  in  the  possibility  (for  them)  of 
a  permanent,  constant  attachment  to  one  person  is  lost.  Such 
men  after  reaching  middle  age  may  marry  for  a  hundred  various 
motives  of  convenience,  but  rarely  for  love. 

Upon  this  particular  passion  of  Beethoven,  the  present  writer 
labors  under  the  disadvantage  of  being  compelled  to  subordinate 
his  imagination  to  his  reason  and  to  sacrifice  flights  of  fancy 
to  the  duty  of  ascertaining  and  imparting  the  modicum  of  truth 
that  underlies  all  this  branch  of  Beethoven  literature,  of  extract- 
ing the  few  grains  of  wheat  from  tJbe  immense  mass  of  chaff.  With 
what  success  remains  to  be  seen. 

W^hen  Schindler,  in  perusing  the  "Notizen,"  came  to  the 
passages  above  quoted,  with  his  usual  agility  in  jumping  at  con- 
clusions he  decided  at  once,  that  Beethoven  here  refers  to  the 
Countess  Julia  Guicciardi,  and  so  states  in  his  book;  probably 
hitting  the  truth  nearer  than  on  the  next  page,  where  he  makes 
Fraulein  Marie  Koschak  the  object  of  Beethoven's  "autumnal 


Relations  with  the  Countess  Guicciardi        319 

love,"  some  half  a  dozen  years  before  the  two  had  ever  met.  In 
this  case,  however,  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  him  mistaken. 

On  the  16th  of  November,  1801— the  date  of  Beethoven's 
letter — the  Countess  Guicciardi  was  just  one  week  less  than  seven- 
teen years  of  age.  She  is  traditionally  described  as  having  had  a 
good  share  of  personal  attractions,  and  is  known  to  have  been 
a  fine  looking  woman  even  in  advanced  years.  She  appears  to 
have  possessed  a  mind  of  fair  powers,  cultivated  and  accomplished 
to  the  degree  then  common  to  persons  of  her  rank;  but  it  is  not 
known  that  she  was  in  any  way  eminently  distinguished,  unless 
for  musical  taste  and  skill  as  a  pianist,  which  may  perhaps 
be  indicated  in  the  dedication  to  her  of  a  sonata  by  Kleinheinz 
as  well  as  by  Beethoven. 

Julia  Guicciardi's  near  relationship  to  the  Brunswicks  would 
naturally  throw  her  into  the  society  of  Beethoven  immediately 
upon  the  transfer  of  her  father  from  Trieste  to  Vienna;  their 
admiration  of  his  talents,  their  warm  affection  for  him  as  a 
man,  would  awaken  her  curiosity  to  see  him  and  create  a  most 
natural  prejudice  in  his  favor.  Coming  to  the  capital  from  a 
small,  distant  provincial  town  when  hardly  of  an  age  to  enter 
society,  and  finding  herself  so  soon  distinguished  by  the  particular 
attentions  and  evident  admiration  of  a  man  of  Beethoven's  social 
position  and  fame,  might  well  dazzle  the  imagination  of  a  girl  of 
sixteen,  and  dispose  her,  especially  if  she  possessed  more  than 
common  musical  taste  and  talents,  to  return  in  a  certain  degree 
the  affection  proffered  to  her  by  the  distinguisliod  author  of  tiic 
Symphony,  the  Quartet,  the  Septet,  tlie  "Prometlieus"  music, 
and  so  many  wonderful  sonatas,  by  the  unrivalled  ])ianist,  the 
generous,  impulsive,  enthusiastic  artist,  although  unprepossessing 
in  person  and  una})le  to  offer  either  weallli  or  a  title.  There 
was  romance  in  the  affair.  Besides  tliese  considerations  there 
are  traditions  and  reminiscences  of  old  friends  of  the  composer 
all  tending  to  confirm  the  opinion  of  Schindler,  tJiat  the 
"fascinating  girl"  was  indeed  tlu^  young  Counfcss  (luirciardi. 
That  writer,  Iiowever,  knew  nothing  of  the  niatlcr  until  twenty 
years  afterwards;  but  what  he  learned  came  from  Beethoven 
himself. 

It  happened,  when  the  topic  came  up  between  them,  "tliat, 
being  in  a  public  place  where  he  did  not  like  to  trust  himself 
to  speak,"  says  Schindh-r,  Beethoven  also  wrote  his  share  in  the 
conversation,  so  far  as  it  relalerl  to  this  subject;  henee  jiis  words 
may  still  be  read  in  a  Conversation  Book  of  February,  1H4.'}, 
preserved  in  the  Royal  Library  at  Berlin.     I  lis  statements  have 


320  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

certainly  gained  nothing  in  clearness  from  his  whim  of  writing 
them  in  part  in  bad  French. 

It  is  proper  to  state,  before  introducing  the  citation  from 
this  book,  that  the  young  lady  married  Count  Wenzel  Robert 
Gallenberg,  a  prolific  composer  of  ballet  and  occasional  music, 
on  the  3rd  of  November,  1803.  The  young  pair  soon  left  Vienna 
for  Italy  and  were  in  Naples  in  the  spring  of  1806;  for  Gallenberg 
was  one  of  the  composers  of  the  music  for  the  fetes,  on  the  occasion 
of  Joseph  Bonaparte's  assumption  of  the  crown  of  the  Two  Sicilies. 
When  the  Neapolitan  Barbaja  took  charge  of  the  R.  I.  Opera  at 
Vienna,  toward  the  close  of  1821,  he  made  the  Count  an  associate 
in  the  administration,  and  thus  it  happened  that  Schindler  had 
occasion  to  call  upon  him  with  a  message  from  Beethoven. 

The  Conversation  Books  of  those  years  show,  that  the  question 
of  selling  the  opera,  "Fidelio,"  to  various  theatres,  was  one  often 
discussed  by  Beethoven  and  his  friends,  and,  also,  that  the  author 
had  no  complete  copy  of  the  score.  It  thus  became  necessary 
to  borrow  one  for  the  purpose  of  copying  the  whole  or  parts; 
and  at  this  point  we  turn  to  the  Conversation  Book.  Schindler, 
in  the  midst  of  a  long  series  of  remarks  upon  heterogeneous  topics, 
expresses  surprise  that  the  Dresden  theatre  has  never  purchased 
"Fidelio,"  and  adds  his  opinion,  that  Weber  will  do  all  in  his 
power  to  further  Beethoven's  interest,  both  in  regard  to  the  opera 
and  to  the  Mass  in  D.  Then  follows  political  news — Spain,  Eng- 
land, etc. — and  the  sale  or  hypothecation  by  Dr.  Bach  of  certain 
bank  shares  on  which  Beethoven  wishes  to  raise  money;  and  then: 

Schindler:  Now  as  to  "Fidelio";  what  shall,  what  can  I  do  to  expedite 
that.' 

Beethoven:  Steiner  has  the  score. 

Schindler:  I  shall  go  to  Count  Gallenberg,  who  will  lend  it  to  you 
for  a  time  with  pleasure.  It  would  be  best  if  you  were  to  have  it  copied 
at  your  own  expense.  You  may  ask  40  ducats.  (After  a  farther  remark 
or  two  he  promises  to  see  Gallenberg  "to-morrow  morning";  some  pages 
farther  is  the  report) : 

Schindler:  Gallenberg  presents  his  compliments;  he  will  send  the 
score,  provided  they  have  two  copies.  If  this  is  not  the  case  he  will  have 
the  score  copied  for  you.  I  am  to  call  on  him  again  in  two  days.  (The 
conversation  then  turns  upon  copying  certain  songs  and  upon  litho- 
graphing the  Mass  in  D;  after  which): 

Schindler:  He  (Gallenberg)  did  not  inspire  me  with  much  respect 
to-day. 

Beethoven:  I  was  his  invisible  benefactor  through  others. 

Schindler:  He  ought  to  know  that,  so  that  he  might  have  more 
respect  for  you  than  he  seems  to  have.  (Kitchen  affairs  follow  here  for 
a  space;  then  Beethoven  takes  the  pencil  and  writes) : 


A  Conversation  about  the  Countess  321 

Beethoven:  So  it  seems  you  did  not  find  G.  favorably  disposed  to- 
ward me;  I  am  little  concerned  in  the  matter,  but  I  should  like  to  know 
what  he  said. 

Schindler:  He  replied  to  me  that  he  thought  that  you  must  have 
the  score  yourself;  but  when  I  assured  him  that  you  did  not  have  it  he 
said  that  its  loss  was  a  consequence  of  your  irregular  habits  and  many 
changes  of  lodgings.  What  affair  is  that  of  the  public.^  And,  moreover, 
who  will  care  what  such  persons  think.'  What  have  you  decided  to  do 
in  the  matter  at  Steiner's.'  To  keep  quiet  still  longer.^*  Dr.  Bach 
recently  asked  me  about  it.  I  thought  you  wanted  to  keep  the  score 
because  you  had  none.  Do  you  want  to  give  the  five-part  fugue  also 
for  nothing.''  My  dearest  friend  and  master,  that  is  too  much  generosity 
towards  such  unworthy  persons.  You  will  only  be  laughed  at.  (Steiner 
had  bought  some  compositions  of  B.  and  not  published  them.) 

Beethoven:  (having  asked  Schindler  if  he  had  seen  Gallenberg's  wife, 
proceeds) :  J^etois  bien  aime  d'elle  et  plus  que  jamais  son  cpoux.  II 
etoit  pourtant  plutot  son  amani  que  moi,  mais  par  elle  fapprenois  de  son 
misere  et  je  trouvais  un  homme  de  bieUy  qui  me  donriait  la  somme  de  500  ji. 
pour  le  soulager.  II  etoit  tou jours  mon  ennemi,  c" etoit  justement  la  raison, 
que  je  fusse  tout  le  bien  que  possible. 

Schindler:  It  was  for  this  reason  that  he  added  "He  is  an  intoloral)le 
fellow."  Probably  because  of  pure  gratitude.  But  forgive  them,  Lord, 
they  know  not  what  they  do.  Est-ce  quil  y  a  longtemps  quelle  est  marice 
avec  Mons.  de  Gallenberg? — Mad.  la  Comtesse?  £tait-elle  riche?  Elle 
a  une  belle  figure  jusquici! 

Beethoven:  Elle  est  nee  Guicciardi.  Elle  etoit  Vepouse  de  lui  avant 
son  voyage  en  Italic — arrive  a  Vienne  elle  cherchoit  moi  pleurant,  mais  je  la 
TTieprisois. ' 

Schindler:  Hercules  at  the  crossways! 

Beethoven:  And  if  I  had  wished  to  give  my  vital  powers  with  that 
life,  what  would  have  remained  for  the  nobler,  the  better  (things)? 

Reverence  for  the  composer,  and  admiration  for  his  composi- 
tions, must  have  led  many  who  will  read  this  to  the  perusal  of 
the  constantly  accumulating  literature  of  which  Beethoven   and 

'Jahn  transcribes  the  last  words  ("jc  la  mfprisois,  etc.)  ns  follows:  f-^llr  rst  nfc 
Guicciardi  die  Itoil  (an  illcKibio  word  marked  with  an  interrogation  point)  7//  rpoimc  do 
lui  {avant  son  voyage)  de  I' Italic.  Arrivce  a  Vicnnc  et  die  cherchoit  moi  plcitrunl,  mai.i  jc 
la  meprisois . 

Ludwig  Nohl  asserts  tliat  the  words  "arrivrc  a  Virnnr"  liad  \u-ru  "ad<icd"  l»y 
Schindler.      But  Schindler  printed   the  passaf,'c  in    1S45  as  well  as  in    ISfiO  tluis:   l\llc 

etoit  I'cpousc  de  lui  avant  son  vnyiuje  en  lltilic Xrrirre  a   Virnnc  rllr  rhrnhoit  nini 

pleurant,  etc.  In  the  erlitif)n  of  18(]0  of  his  l)io>,'raphy  of  H<<|lioven  lie  adds  the  following 
remark:  "One  of  the  conversation  books  of  ISid.S,  nil  of  which  are  preserved  in  the  Royal 
Court  Library  at  Merlin,  contains  these  revelations."  If  Nolil's  assertion  is  correct 
it  follows  that  Schindler  lied  and  deceived  the  [niblic,  bein^  Kiiilly  <'f  "  forgery  which 
escajxd  the  eyes  of  both  Jahn  and  Thayer;  anti  that,  fiirthertnore.  he  was  >;iiilty  of 
the  folly  of  calling  attention  to  the  very  book  wlios<-  contents  he  had  falsilied.  N<dd 
asserts  further  that  Ciiulietta  had  sought  an  interview  with  Heellioven  iiefore  her  journey 
to  Italy.  On  such  an  act  he  fminds  the  assertion  that  tin-  young  woman,  married  only 
a  few  months,  was  already  willing  to  leave  her  husband.  From  circumstances  unknown 
to  Nohl  it  is  certain  that  the  visit  did  not  lake  place  until  after  h<T  return  to  Vienna 
in  1822. 


322  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

his  works  are  the  subject;  and  they  must  remember  the  prominence 
accorded  to  the  Guicciardi  affair.  Will  they  believe  that  all  the 
established  facts,  which  have  ever  been  made  public,  are  exhausted 
in  these  pages  already?  This  is  literally  true.  All  else  is  but 
conjecture  or  mistake.  There  is  nothing  in  the  present  state 
of  knowledge  on  this  subject  to  relieve  the  great  mass  of  turgid 
eloquence  expended  upon  it  from  being  described  in  one  word  as — 
nonsense.  The  foundation  for  a  tragedy  is  certainly  small  in  a 
case  where  the  lover  writes:  "It  is  the  first  time  that  I  feel  as  if 
marriage  might  make  me  happy";  and  immediately  adds  "now,  of 
course,  I  could  not  marry!"  because  the  gratification  of  his 
ambition  was  more  to  him  than  domestic  life  with  the  beloved  one. 
In  November,  1852,  Jahn  had  an  interview  with  the  Countess 
Gallenberg.  On  so  delicate  a  topic  as  Beethoven's  passion  for 
her  fifty  years  before,  reticence  was  natural;  but  had  the  affair  in 
truth  been  of  the  importance  that  others  have  given  it,  some  hint 
must  have  confessed  it.  Yet  there  is  nothing  of  the  kind  in  his 
notes  of  the  conversation.     Here  they  are: 

Beethoven  was  her  teacher;  he  had  his  music  sent  to  her  and  was 
extremely  severe  until  the  correct  interpretation  was  reached  down  to 
the  smallest  detail;  he  laid  stress  upon  a  light  manner  of  playing;  he 
easily  became  angry,  threw  down  his  music  and  tore  it;  he  would  take 
no  pay  but  linen,  although  he  was  very  poor,  under  the  pretence  that  the 
Countess  had  sewed  it.  He  also  taught  Princess  Odescalchi  and  Baroness 
Erdmann ;  sometimes  he  went  to  his  pupils,  sometimes  they  came  to  him. 
He  did  not  like  to  play  his  own  compositions,  but  would  only  improvise. 
At  the  slightest  disturbance  he  would  get  up  and  go  away.  Count 
Brunswick,  who  played  the  violoncello,  adored  him  as  did  (also)  his 
sisters,  Therese  and  Countess  Deym.  Beethoven  had  given  her  (the 
Countess  Guicciardi)  the  Rondo  in  G,  but  begged  its  return  when  he 
had  to  dedicate  something  to  the  Countess  Lichnowsky,  and  then  dedi- 
cated the  Sonata  to  her.  B.  was  very  ugly,  but  noble,  refined  in  feeling 
and  cultured. 

In  this  simple  record  the  lady's  memory  evidently  mistakes 
by  overrating  the  poverty  of  Beethoven  at  the  time  she  was  his 
pupil  and  in  making  him  then  so  negligent  in  dress.  "In  his 
earlier  years  Beethoven  dressed  carefully,  even  elegantly;  only  later 
did  he  grow  negligent,  which  he  carried  to  the  verge  of  unclean- 
liness,"  says  Grillparzer;  and  Czerny:  "About  the  year  1813-'14, 
when  B.  looked  well  and  strong,  he  also  cared  for  his  outward 
appearance."  But  what  a  blow  to  all  the  supposed  romantic 
significance  is  the  short,  prosaic  account  of  the  dedication  of  the 
C-sharp  minor  Sonata  to  her — a  composition  which  was  not  a 
favorite   with    the    composer    himself.      "Everybody   is   always 


A  Conjectural  Offer  of  Marriage  323 

talking  about  the  C-sharp  minor  Sonata!  Surely  I  have  written 
better  things.  There  is  the  Sonata  in  F-sharp  major — that  is 
something  very  different,"  he  once  said  to  Czerny. 

There  is  but  one  well-authenticated  fact  to  be  added,  namely, 
that  Beethoven  kept  up  his  intercourse  with  the  family  Guicciardi 
certainly  as  late  as  May  or  June,  IS'iS,  that  is,  to  within  six  months 
of  the  young  lady's  marriage.  A  careful  survey  and  comparison 
both  of  the  published  data  and  of  the  private  traditions  and  hints 
gleaned  during  a  residence  of  several  years  at  Vienna,  result  in 
the  opinion  (an  opinion,  note,  not  a  statement  resting  on  compe- 
tent evidence)  that  Beethoven  at  length  decided  to  offer  Countess 
Julia  his  hand;  that  she  was  not  indisposed  to  accept  it;  and  that 
one  of  her  parents  consented  to  the  match,  but  the  other,  probably 
the  father,  refused  to  entrust  the  happiness  of  his  daughter  to  a 
man  without  rank,  fortune  or  permanent  engagement;  a  man, 
too,  of  character  and  temperament  so  peculiar,  and  afflicted  with 
the  incipient  stages  of  an  infirmity  which,  if  not  arrested  and  cured, 
must  deprive  him  of  all  hope  of  obtaining  any  high  and  remunera- 
tive oflBcial  appointment  and  at  length  compel  him  to  abandon 
his  career  as  the  great  pianoforte  virtuoso.  As  the  Guicciardis 
themselves  were  not  wealthy,  prudence  forbade  such  a  marriage. 
Be  all  this  as  it  may,  this  much  is  certain:  Beethoven  did  not 
marry  the  Countess  Julia  Guicciardi;  Count  AVenzel  Robert 
Gallenberg  did.  The  rejected  lover — true  to  a  principle  enunci- 
ated in  a  letter  to  Zmeskall  of  IMarch  29,  1799,  "there  is  no  use  in 
quarrelling  with  what  cannot  be  changed" — made  the  best  of  it, 
and  went  to  work  on  the  "Sinfoniu  eroica"! 

Every  reader  acquainted  with  Schindler's  book  will  have 
noticed  that  two  grave  matters,  connected  by  him  with  the 
Guicciardi  affair,  have  been  silently  passed  over,  notwithstanding 
the  very  great  importance  given  to  them  by  him  and  his  copyists. 
They  must  now  be  considered.  Sfhiudlcr's  honest  and  conscien- 
tious desire  to  ascertain  and  inij)art  the  truth  concerning  Beethoven 
admits  no  doubt.  'J'lie  spirit  was  willing,  bnt  Jiis  weakness  us  an 
investigator  was  sonietliing  extraordinary.  His  hcli)lessness  in 
finding  and  following  the  clue  out  of  a  difficulty  is  sonirtinies 
pitiable,  sometimes  ludicrous.  He  reminds  us,  now  and  tiien,  of 
the  character  described  by  Addison:  "lie  is  perpetually  puzzled 
and  pery)lexed  amidst  his  own  blunders." 

Take  the  present  matter  for  an  instance.  In  his  first  editions 
of  the  biognij)hy  the  date  given  to  the  (iniccianli  affair  is 
1800.  \Vitli  AVegeler's  letter  before  him  giving  him  one  fixed  point 
— November,    1801— and    the   "Griifliches    Tuschenbuch"    to    be 


324  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

consulted  in  every  respectable  bookstore  and  public  library  for  the 
day  of  Gallenberg's  marriage,  November  3, 1803,  he  is  still  at  a  loss. 
"I  had  first  to  come  to  Paris,  there  make  the  acquaintance  of 
Cherubini,  in  order  to  hit,  quite  accidentally,  upon  a  certain  clue 
for  this  date  for  which  I  had  vainly  searched  in  Vienna.  Cherubini 
and  his  wife,  soon  after  their  arrival  in  Vienna  in  1805,  heard  of 
this  affair  as  of  something  that  had  happened  two  years  before." 
Following  this  hint,  in  his  edition  of  1860,  he  changes  the  1806 
to  1803 — that  is,  he  adopts  the  new  date  because,  twenty  years 
before,  he  heard  from  an  old  gentleman  of  80  years  and  his  wife, 
nearly  as  old,  that,  thirty-five  years  before,  they  had  heard  that 
some  two  years  before  that  time  Beethoven  had  been  jilted!  They 
also  "could  say  with  certainty  that  the  effect  upon  Beethoven's 
mood  had  already  been  overcome"; — which  we  are  very  willing  to 
hear  from  them,  although  the  fact  needed  no  confirmation.  Again; 
his  conversation  with  Beethoven,  given  as  an  appendix  to  the 
edition  of  1845,  was  suppressed  in  the  first  because  the  Countess 
Gallenberg  was  then  living;  the  "Taschenbuch"  would  have 
taught  him  that  this  objection  remained  in  force  until  March 
22nd,  1856 !  How  is  it  possible  to  read  with  confidence  the  opinions 
and  statements  of  so  helpless  a  writer — even  when  we  grant  him, 
as  we  do  Schindler,  the  utmost  rectitude  of  intention — except 
when  he  speaks  from  personal  knowledge,  or  upon  evidence 
which  he  shows  to  be  good? 

Having  in  a  manner  so  extraordinary  fixed  the  date  to  his 
satisfaction,  Schindler  proceeds  to  the  catastrophe: 

Yet  touching  the  results  of  this  break  upon  the  spirits  of  our  master, 
so  highly  blessed  by  this  love,  something  more  may  be  said.  In  his 
despair  he  sought  comfort  with  his  approved  and  particularly  respected 
friend  Countess  Marie  Erdody — at  her  country-seat  at  Jedlersee,  in 
order  to  spend  a  few  days  in  her  company.  Thence,  however,  he  dis- 
appeared and  the  Countess  thought  he  had  returned  to  Vienna,  when, 
three  days  later,  her  music-master,  Brauchle,  discovered  him  in  a  distant 
part  of  the  palace  gardens.  This  incident  was  long  kept  a  close  secret, 
and  only  after  several  years  did  those  familiar  with  it  confide  it  to  the 
more  intimate  friends  of  Beethoven,  long  after  the  love-affair  had  been 
forgotten.  It  was  associated  with  a  suspicion  that  it  had  been  the  purpose 
of  the  unhappy  man  to  starve  himself  to  death.  Those  friends  who  made 
close  observation  of  the  attitude  of  Beethoven  towards  the  music-master 
noticed  that  he  treated  him  with  extraordinary  attention  thereafter. 

Jedlersee  is  so  near  Vienna,  that  a  stout  walker  like  Beet- 
hoven would  think  nothing  of  the  distance;  and  for  him  to  obey 
the  whim  or  necessity  of  the  moment,  and  disappear  for  two  or 
three  days,  is  the  very  weakest  of  all  grounds  for  the  astounding 


Schixdler's  Uxfouxded  Conclusions  325 

conjecture  here  gravely  related.  But  grant  for  a  moment  that 
something  of  the  kind,  some  time  or  other,  really  occurred;  what 
reason  is  there  to  suppose  that  it  happened  then,  and  in  connection 
with  the  Guicciardi  matter?  None,  Credat  Judceus  Apella,  non 
ego.  Indeed  the  whole  story,  whatever  its  date  and  connection, 
is  told  on  such  mere  hearsay  evidence  as  would  not  justify  the 
police  in  arresting  a  beggar.  To  prevent  it  from  passing  into  the 
category  of  established  facts — at  least  in  connection  with  this 
particular  love-affair,  and  until  some  new  and  competent  proof 
be  discovered — it  may  be  remarked : 

I.  Schindler's  first  knowledge  of  the  passion  of  Beethoven  for 
Julia  Guicciardi  was  obtained  in  1823.  Whatever  he  heard  from 
other  sources  could  only  have  been  afterwards;  and  in  all  prob- 
ability was  after  Beethoven's  death,  when  his  attention  was  re- 
called to  the  subject  by  a  paper  presently  to  be  noticed.  He  does 
not  pretend  to  have  heard  this  Jedlersee  story  from  any  party  to 
it;  nor  could  he,  for  the  Countess  Erdody  had  been  banished  from 
the  Austrian  dominions  long  before  it  could  have  come  to  his 
ears.  He  is,  in  fact  and  upon  his  own  showing,  gravely  detailing 
a  mere  private  rumor,  current  (he  says)  among  certain  friends 
of  Beethoven,  of  an  event  which  happened  (if  at  all)  fifteen, 
twenty  or  thirty  years  before,  and  which  was  surmised  by 
them,  or  by  him,  to  have  occurred  at  the  time  he  was  jilted  by 
the  young  Countess  Guicciardi. 

II.  There  is  nothing  whatever  in  Ries's  reminiscences,  most 
of  which  are  of  the  precise  period  of  tliat  affair,  whicli,  by  any 
stretch  of  fancy,  can  be  made  to  confirm  the  story;  nay,  more, 
they  are  utterly  inconsistent  with  it.  There  is  nothing  even  to 
show  that  he  ever  observed  that  his  master's  relations  to  tlie 
Guicciardis  were  in  any  way  remarkable;  yet  Beethoven's  incli- 
nation to  the  society  of  women  was  a  point  in  his  character  that 
particularly  impressed  him.     "Beethoven,"  he  says, 

was  fond  of  the  company  of  women,  cspcrially  if  they  had  yoiiiifj  and 
pretty  fafos,  and  ^'oncrally  when  wo  p;iss(>(l  a  sorncwliat  chariiiini,'  ^irl 
he  would  turn  hack  and  gaze  at  licr  throu^'h  his  ^hisses  keenly,  and  hiu^'h 
or  grin  if  he  noticed  that  I  was  looking  at  hitn.  lie  was  fre<juently 
in  love,  but  generally  only  for  a  short  period.  Once  wIkmi  I  t\ville<l  hitii 
cf)ncernin^  liis  conquest  of  a  pretty  woman  he  admit  led  thai  she  had 
held  him  iu  the  strongest  bonds  for  the  longest  time,  viz.,  fully  seven 
months. 

III.  And  so  too  with  Breuning.  There  is  no  Icllcr,  or  jiart  of 
a  letter  by  him  (so  far  as  made  known  i)y  Wcgeler),  nor  any  tra.li- 
tion  derived  from  him,  that  relates  to  tliis  passion  or  its  supposed 


326  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

consequences;  and  yet,  it  is  only  from  one  of  his  letters  that  we 
know  of  the  proposal  of  marriage  in  1810;  nay,  more,  we  shall 
find,  in  1803,  Beethoven  inviting  a  friend  to  dine  with  "Countess 
Guicciardi,"  at  a  time  when  he  and  Breuning  lodged  together! 

IV.  If  the  Jedlersee  story  be  true  at  all  in  connection  with 
this  particular  lady,  the  time  must  have  been  1803.  But  it  is 
totally  inconsistent  with  what  is  known  of  the  composer's  history 
during  that  year. 

V.  Brauchle  was  not  the  Countess  Erdody's  music-teacher, 
but  the  tutor  of  her  children,  in  which  capacity  he  could  hardly 
have  been  employed  at  a  time  when  the  eldest  was  not  six  years 
of  age!  If  we  are  correctly  informed,  he  was  not  in  that  service 
until  after  the  year  1803;  nor  is  it  known  that  Beethoven's  inti- 
macy with  the  Countess  had  then  been  formed.  In  any  case, 
the  starvation  story  may  be  considered  as  disposed  of  for  the 
present. 

The  force  of  these  arguments  will  be  incidentally  but  mate- 
rially increased  by  the  views — if  they  find  favor  and  acceptance — 
advanced  and  supported  in  a  short  discussion  of  the  single  remain- 
ing question  belonging  to  the  Guicciardi  affair,  to  which  we 
now  come. 

It  was  well  known  to  Beethoven's  friends,  that  he  died  pos- 
sessed of  a  few  bank-shares;  but  where  the  certificates  were  depos- 
ited neither  his  brother,  Breuning  nor  Schindler  knew.  "B. 
kept  his  bank-shares  in  a  secret  drawer  of  a  cabinet  known  only 
to  Holz,"  is  one  of  Jahn's  notes  of  a  conversation  with  Carl  Holz. 
When  Schindler  read  Jahn's  manuscript  notices  and  memoranda 
upon  Beethoven  and  added  his  comments,  he  remarked  here: 

Johann  Beethoven  first  devoted  himself  to  the  disappearance  of  the 
shares,  and  not  finding  them  he  cried  out:  "Breuning  and  Schindler 
must  find  them."  Holz  was  asked  to  come,  by  Breuning,  and  requested 
to  say  if  he  did  not  know  where  they  were  concealed.  He  knew  the 
secret  drawer  in  the  old  cabinet  in  which  they  were  kept. 

In  that  "secret  drawer"  Breuning  found  not  only  the  bank- 
certificates,  but  also  various  "letters  of  importance  to  his  friend," 
as  Schindler  describes  them.  One  of  these  was  a  letter  with  two 
postscripts  written  by  Beethoven  on  two  pieces  of  note-paper 
with  a  lead  pencil,  at  some  watering-place  not  named,  in  the  July 
of  a  year  not  given  and  to  a  person  not  indicated.  It  is  couched 
in  terms  of  enthusiastic  love  rarely  equalled  even  in  romance, 
being  like  a  translation  into  words  of  the  most  tender  and  touching 
passages  in  his  most  impassioned  musical  compositions.  This 
document,  placed  in  Schindler's  possession  by  Breuning,  is  the 


Text  of  the  Letter  to  the  "Immortal  Beloved"  327 

original  of  what  was  first  printed  in  1840,  as,  *'three  autograph 
letters  written  by  Beethoven  to  his  Giulietta  from  a  bathing- 
place  in  Hungary"!  and  which  have  so  often  been  reprinted  at 
various  times.     The  letter  is  as  follows : 

July  6,  in  the  morning. 
My  angel,  my  all,  my  very  self — only  a  few  words  to-day  and  at  that 
with  pencil  (with  yours) — not  till  to-morrow  will  my  lodgings  be  defini- 
tively determined  upon — what  a  useless  waste  of  time.  Why  this  deep 
sorrow  where  necessity  speaks — can  our  love  endure  except  through 
sacrifices — except  through  not  demanding  everything — can  you  change 
it  that  you  are  not  wholly  mine,  I  not  wholly  thine.  Oh,  God!  look 
out  into  the  beauties  of  nature  and  comfort  yourself  with  that  which 
must  be — love  demands  everything  and  that  very  justly — thus  it  is  with 
me  so  far  as  you  are  concerned,  and  you  with  me.  If  we  were  wholly  united 
you  would  feel  the  pain  of  it  as  little  as  I.  My  journey  was  a  fearful 
one;  I  did  not  reach  here  until  4  o'clock  yesterday  morning;  lacking 
horses  the  post-coach  chose  another  route — but  what  an  awful  one.  At 
the  stage  before  the  last  I  was  warned  not  to  travel  at  night — made 
fearful  of  a  forest,  but  that  only  made  me  the  more  eager  and  I  was 
wrong;  the  coach  must  needs  break  down  on  the  wretched  road,  a 
bottomless  mud  road — without  such  postilions  as  I  had  with  me  I  should 
have  stuck  in  the  road.  Esterhazy,  travelling  the  usual  road  hitherward, 
had  the  same  fate  with  eight  horses  that  I  had  with  four — yet  I  ^ot  some 
pleasure  out  of  it,  as  I  always  do  when  I  successfully  overcome  difKcul ties. 
Now  a  quick  change  to  things  internal  from  things  external.  We  shall 
soon  surely  see  each  other;  moreover,  I  cannot  communicate  to  you 
the  observations  I  have  made  during  the  last  few  days  touching  my  own 
life — if  our  hearts  were  always  close  together  I  would  make  none  of  the 
kind.  My  heart  is  full  of  many  things  to  say  to  you — Ah! — there  are 
moments  when  I  feel  that  speech  is  nothing  after  all — cheer  uj) — remain 
my  true,  my  only  treasure,  my  all  as  I  am  yours;  the  gods  nuist  send 
us  the  rest  that  which  shall  be  best  for  us. 

Your  faithful  I>udwig. 

Evening,  Monday,  July  G. 
You  are  suffering,  my  dearest  creature — only  now  have  I  learned 
that  letters  must  be  posted  very  early  in  the  moruinj^.  Mondays, 
Thursdays, — the  only  days  on  which  the  mail-coach  goes  from  here  to  K. 
^'ou  Jirc  snfferini,' — Ah!  where\er  I  am  Iheni  you  arc;  also.  I  shall 
arrange  affairs  between  us  so  that  I  shall  live  and  li\«'  with  you.  what  a 
life!  !  !  !  thus!  !  !  !  thus  williout  you  |)ursu<'<l  hy  tiu;  j^'oodness  of  man- 
kind hither  and  thither — which  I  as  little  try  to  deserve;  as  I  deserve  it. 
Huniilily  f)f  man  towards  man — it  pains  me — and  when  I  consider  myself 
in  connection  with  the  universe,  what  am  I  and  what  is  he  whom  we  call 

'Tbc  pAlitf)r  of  this  Kn^lisli  fdition  lakfs  tin-  lilxriy  of  iiiscrtiiiK  llic  icilcr  in  the 
body  of  the  text.  Mr.  Tluiyor,  or  his  first  (;«Tin!in  Kditor,  Dr.  Dcitors,  put  it  in  Itie 
appendix  to  fhf  third  volum<-.  fi)ll()wiii^  it  with  an  arKumf-nt  advanrc*!  t(j  Hhow  that 
it  was  not  a<ldrfvs,scd  to  thf  CoiimIcs.s  (Jiiiccianii.  Tliis  arKiinunl  Ihr  Ktijjiish  Ivlilor 
has  also  traosfcrred  to  ihr  hofly  of  tbe  text  so  that  the  discussion  may  be  read  coutin- 
uously. 


328  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

the  greatest — and  yet — herein  Hes  the  divine  in  man.  I  weep  when  I 
reflect  that  you  will  probably  not  receive  the  first  intelligence  from  me 
until  Saturday — much  as  you  love  me,  I  love  you  more — but  do  not  ever 
conceal  your  thoughts  from  me — good-night — as  I  am  taking  the  baths 
I  must  go  to  bed.  Oh,  God!  so  near  so  far!  Is  our  love  not  truly  a 
celestial  edifice — firm  as  Heaven's  vault. 

Good-morning,  on  July  7. 

Though  still  in  bed  my  thoughts  go  out  to  you,  my  Immortal 
Beloved,  now  and  then  joyfully,  then  sadly,  waiting  to  learn  whether 
or  not  fate  will  hear  us.  I  can  live  only  wholly  with  you  or  not  at  all — 
yes,  I  am  resolved  to  wander  so  long  away  from  you  until  I  can  fly  to 
your  arms  and  say  that  I  am  really  at  home,  send  my  soul  enwrapped  in 
you  into  the  land  of  spirits. — Yes,  unhappily  it  must  be  so — you  will  be 
the  more  resolved  since  you  know  my  fidelity — to  you,  no  one  can  ever 
again  possess  my  heart — none — never — Oh,  God,  why  is  it  necessary  to 
part  from  one  whom  one  so  loves  and  yet  my  life  in  W  (Vienna)  is 
now  a  wretched  life — your  love  makes  me  at  once  the  happiest  and  the 
unhappiest  of  men — at  my  age  I  need  a  steady,  quiet  life — can  that  be 
under  our  conditions.?  My  angel,  I  have  just  been  told  that  the  mail- 
coach  goes  every  day — and  I  must  close  at  once  so  that  you  may  receive 
the  L.  at  once.  Be  calm,  only  by  a  calm  consideration  of  our  existence 
can  we  achieve  our  purpose  to  live  together — be  calm — love  me — to-day — 
yesterday — what  tearful  longings  for  you — ^you — ^you — my  life — my  all — 
farewell — Oh  continue  to  love  me — never  misjudge  the  most  faithful 
heart  of  your  beloved  L. 

ever  thine 
ever  mine 
ever  for  each  other. 

Among  the  many  persons  before  whom  at  various  times 
Schindler  kindly  placed  the  original  for  examination  were  Otto 
Jahn  and  the  present  writer,  neither  of  whom  ever  discovered 
any  other  reason  to  suppose  this  paper  to  have  been  intended 
for  the  Countess  Guicciardi  than  Schindler's  conjecture  and  the 
grounds  upon  which  he  had  formed  it.  Bearing  in  mind  that  the 
existence  of  this  paper  was  utterly  unknown  to  either  Breuning 
or  Schindler  until  after  the  death  of  its  writer,  who  alone  could 
have  imparted  its  history,  the  mental  process  by  which  it  came  to 
be  described  in  the  words  just  quoted,  "three  autograph  letters 
written  by  Beethoven  to  his  Giulietta  from  a  bathing-place  in 
Hungary,"  is  perfectly  easy  to  trace;  thus: 

In  the  first  of  the  three  parts,  or  letters,  Beethoven  speaks 
of  the  very  disagreeable  journey  which  he  had  performed  with 
four  post-horses,  and  Esterhazy  with  eight;  in  the  second  he  writes 
of  the  "mail-coach  from  here  to  K."  and  again,  "As  I  am  taking 
the  baths  I  must  go  to  bed."     Now,  of  the  218  places  in   the 


When  Was  the  Love-Letter  Written?  3^29 

Austrian  postal-guide  whose  names  begin  with  K,  a  large  number 
are  in  Hungary;  the  bathing-places  in  that  kingdom  are  also 
numerous;  and  Esterhazy's  possessions  were  there;  hence 
Schindler's  assumption  that  Beethoven  wrote  from  a  Hungarian 
watering-place — which  may  stand  for  the  present.  His  conjecture 
as  to  whom  he  wrote  was  of  course  suggested  by  his  conversation 
in  1823  upon  the  Countess  Gallenberg.  This  assumption,  so 
obvious  and  natural  for  him  to  make  that  it  was  accepted  unques- 
tioned and  even  unsuspected  for  thirty  years,  must  nevertheless 
be  tested. 

The  document  presents  three  incomplete  dates,  the  year  being 
omitted  in  each: 

"July  6,  in  the  morning." 

"Evening,  Monday,  July  6." 

"Good-morning  on  July  7." 

A  reference  to  the  almanacs  of  1795,  1801,  1807,  and  1812, 
shows^that  July  6th  fell  upon  a  Monday  in  those  years.  The 
year  1795  is  of  course  excluded,  for  Julia  Guicciardi  had  not  then 
completed  her  eleventh  year,  and  we  turn  at  once  to  1801.  The 
main  subjects  of  Beethoven's  letter  to  Wegeler  of  June  29t]i  were 
his  ailments  and  the. modes  of  treatment  adopted  by  his  medical 
advisers;  to  which  he  adds  his  desire  for  his  friend's  counsel, 
Wegeler  being  a  physician  of  eminent  ability  and  skill.  It  was 
Wegeler's  reply  which  drew  forth  the  second  letter  of  November 
16,  only  four  and  a  half  months  after  the  first,  which  continues 
the  subject  with  equal  minuteness  of  detail.  If  now  the  reader 
will  turn  back  and  carefully  reperuse  the  two,  he  will  see  tliat  all 
possibility  of  a  journey  to  some  distant  watering-place,  re(iuiring 
the  use  of  four  post-horses,  whether  in  Hungary  or  elsewhere,  in 
the  interval  between  those  letters  is  absolutely  excluded  by  their 
contents.  The  conclusion  is  unavoidal)le  tJuit  the  diary  was  not 
written  in  1801. 

But  may  there  not  be  an  error  either  in  the  day  of  tlie  month 
or  of  the  week  in  the  words:  "Evening,  Monday,  July  (>?"  If  tlure 
be,  tJie  inquiry  is  extended  to  tlie  years  ISOO  and   1S()2. 

On  July  6th,  1800,  tlie  (Juieeiardi  family  jiad  hardly  reached 
Vienna  from  Trieste.  But  sui)pose  Julia  liad  been  previously 
sent  thither  to  comi)Iete  her  education,  and  thus  liad  become 
known  to  Beethoven.  In  tliat  case,  what  is  to  be  tliought  of 
guardians  and  friends  who  couhl  allow  lier  such  liberty,  or  raflirr 
license,  that  she,  at  the  age  of  fifteen  and  three-(|nart«T  years, 
should  already  have  formed  \hr  relations  necessarily  implied  by 


330  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

the  language  of  the  diary  with  a  man  twice  her  age?  What, 
too,  must  be  thought  of  Beethoven !  Granting  him  to  have  been, 
as  Magdalena  Willmann  and  others  said,  "half  crazy,"  the  man 
certainly  was  not  a  fool! 

The  year  1800  may  also  be  safely  discarded.  As  to  1802,  it 
is  superfluous  to  say  more  than  that  in  the  next  chapter  will  be 
found  part  of  a  letter  by  Beethoven,  dated  "Vienna,  July  13, 1802." 
His  stay  at  the  bath  must,  indeed,  have  been  short  if  he  reached 
it  with  four  post-horses  on  the  5th  and  is  in  Vienna  again  writing 
letters  on  the  13th! 

In  1803,  July  6th  fell  upon  Wednesday.  But  there  was  no 
such  error  in  the  date;  Beethoven  gives  the  day  of  the  month 
three  times  in  twenty-four  hours — twice  on  the  6th,  once  on  the 
7th.  A  mistake  here  is  inconceivable.  The  day  of  the  week, 
indeed,  is  written  but  once;  but  then  it  is  Monday,  and  Sunday 
and  Monday  are  precisely  the  two  days  of  the  week  which  one 
most  rarely  or  never  mistakes.  But  that  part  of  the  document 
which  bears  the  date  "Evening,  Monday,  July  6"  contains  certain 
words  that  are  decisive.  This  part  is  a  postscript  to  the  writing 
of  the  morning  and  is  written,  he  says,  because  he  was  too  late 
for  the  post  on  that  day,  and  "Mondays,  Thursdays,  the  only 
days  on  which  the  mail-coach  goes  from  here  to  K."  The  con- 
clusion is  irresistible:  Schindler  and  his  copyists  are  all  wrong; 
the  document  was  not  written  in  the  years  1800-1803;  the  "Immor- 
tal Beloved"  for  whom  it  was  written  was  not  the  Countess  Julia 
Guicciardi.  Therefore,  they  who  have  wept  in  sympathy  over 
this  Werther's  sufferings  caused  by  this  Charlotte,  may  dry  their 
tears.  They  can  comfort  themselves  with  the  assurance,  that  the 
catastrophe  was  by  no  means  so  disastrous  as  represented.  The 
affair  was  but  an  episode;  not  the  grand  tragedy  of  Beethoven's 
life.  But,  being  a  love  adventure,  it  has  been  treated  with  fact 
in  ratio  to  fancy  like  Falstaff's  bread  to  his  sack.  One  author 
in  particular,  who  accepts  all  Schindler's  assumptions  and  con- 
jectures without  question  or  suspicion,  has  elaborated  the  topic 
at  great  length,  though  perhaps  (to  borrow  Sheridan's  jest)  less 
luminously  than  voluminously.  Having  wrought  up  the  feelings 
of  "his  lovely  readers,  his  dear  lady  friends  of  Beethoven,"  to  the 
highest  pitch  possible  in  a  tragedy  where  the  hero,  after  the 
catastrophe,  still  lives  and  prospers,  he  consoles  them  a  few  chapters 
farther  on  by  giving  to  Beethoven  for  his  one  "Love's  Labor  Lost" 
two  new  ones  gained — the  one,  a  married  woman,  the  other,  a 
young  girl  of  fourteen  years;  and,  moreover — if,  in  the  confusion 
of  his  dates,  the  reader  is  not  greatly  misled — both  at  the  same 


Beethoven's  Inaccurate  Datings  331 

time!  "Also  the  Lord  gave  Job  twice  as  much  as  he  had  before," 
saith  the  ancient  Hebrew  poet.^ 

Even  if  one  were  disposed  to  attach  no  great  importance  to 
the  arguments  thus  far  advanced,  there  are  two  passages  in  the 
letter  which  could  not  have  been  written  in  that  brilliant  period 
of  Beethoven's  life  (1800-1802)  and  therefore  are  conclusive;  viz.: 
*'My  life  in  W  (Wien  =  Vienna)  is  now  a  wretched  life,"  and  "At 
my  age  I  need  a  quiet,  steady  life."  In  fact,  the  severest  critical 
discussion  of  my  argument  against  the  accuracy  of  Schindler's 
statement  has  failed  to  find  a  flaw  in  it  beyond  the  unessential 
assertion  that  Beethoven  could  scarcely  be  conceived  as  having 
erred  in  the  matter  of  the  day  of  the  week.  Since  then  the  author 
has  himself  accidentally  learned  by  experience  how  a  mistake  of 
this  kind,  made  in  the  morning,  can  easily  be  perpetuated  in 
private  letters;  he  learned  it  by  being  compelled  to  prove  the 
absolute  accuracy  of  an  official  document. 

Every  attentive  and  thoughtful  reader  of  the  letter  must 
realize  that  it  is  irreconcilable  with  the  notion  that  Beetlioven's 
passionate  devotion  to  the  lady  was  a  new  and  sudden  one;  also 
that  Beethoven  had  parted  with  his  beloved,  whoever  she  may 
have  been,  only  a  short  time  before;  that  he  writes  in  the  full 
conviction  that  his  love  is  returned  and  the  desire  for  a  union  of 
their  fates  was  mutual,  and  that  by  patient  waiting  tlie  obstacles 
then  in  the  way  of  their  purpose  to  live  together  would  be  overcome. 

In  the  effort  to  determine  when  Beethoven  wrote  in  this  strain 
his  own  inaccurate  dates  cannot  be  overlooked,  but  must  be  dis- 
cussed at  the  outset  of  the  inquiry.  If  the  words  ''Evening,  Mon- 
day, July  6,"  are  to  be  considered  conclusive,  the  investigation  will 
have  to  be  confined  to  the  years  1807  and  ISl-^,  both  ISOl  and  ISIH 
being  out  of  the  question.  But  if  an  error  of  a  day  be  assumed,  in- 
c|uiry  may  be  extended  totlie  following  years.   Inthelirsl  threeyears 


180(5 

1807 

180S 

the  5th  of  July  fell  on  a 

Sulunhiy 

Sunday 

Tu(>sday 

the  0th  of  July  on  a 

Sunday 

Mon(l:iy 

Wednesday 

the  7th  of  July  on  a 

Monday 

Tuesday 

'IMiiirsday 

In  the  three  later 

years 

1811 

1812 

IKl.'? 

July  .'iJh  fell  on  a 

Fri.l.'.y 

Saturday 

Monday 

July  (Jtli  on  a 

S;ilunl;iy 

MoMfJay 

Tur'^day 

July  7th  on  a 

Sunday 

Tuesday 

Wedrursday 

'From  here  on  the  Ivlilor  of  this  Enjjiish  oriition  prosmts  Mr.  Tli.iy.-r'.H  fiirtlmr 
contentions  as  they  arc  set  forth  in  tho  first  nppctwlix  to  Vol.  Ill  of  th>-  first  (i.Tin.'in 
edition,  though  in  the  form  of  a  translation — the  original  raanusrript  not  having  rcucUcci 
bis  hands. 


332  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

To  pass  by  other  reasons,  the  years  1808  and  1811  are  to  be 
excKided  because  they  presuppose  an  error  of  two  days.  There 
remain,  then,  the  years  1806,  1807,  1812  and  1813,  which  can  be 
best  studied  in  their  reverse  order.  The  year  1813  shows  itself 
at  once  impossible  because  of  the  date  of  a  letter  to  Varena: 
"Baden,  July  4,  1813,"  besides  other  circumstances  which  prove 
that  Beethoven  spent  the  months  of  June  and  July  of  this  year 
in  Vienna  and  Baden.  In  a  similar  manner  1812  must  be  rejected 
because  he  wrote  a  letter  to  Baumeister  on  June  28  from  Vienna 
and  arrived  in  Teplitz  on  July  7. 

There  remain,  then,  only  the  years  1806  and  1807.  If  we 
are  willing  to  attach  too  great  weight  to  the  improbability  of  an 
error  in  Beethoven's  dates  (July  6  and  7)  it  would  certainly  be 
impossible  to  decide  in  favor  of  the  year  for  which  other  considera- 
tions plead  with  almost  convincing  force — viz.,  1806.  There  is  a 
letter  from  Beethoven  to  Brunswick  proposing  to  visit  him  in 
Pesth  printed  with  the  date  "May  14,  1806"  which  might  be 
strong  evidence  in  favor  of  that  year;  but,  unfortunately,  the  true 
date  is  1807,  and  so  adds  to  our  difficulty.  For  it  is  known  that 
on  July  22nd,  1807  (and  for  several  days  at  least  before),  he  was 
in  Baden,  and  there  is  nothing  thus  far  to  prove  that  he  did  not 
make  the  proposed  visit  and  return  from  Hungary  in  season  to 
have  written  the  love-letter  on  the  6th  and  7th  of  that  month; 
this  is,  it  is  true,  a  very  unsatisfactory  assumption.  There  is  a 
date  in  a  correspondence  with  Simrock  touching  the  purchase 
of  certain  works,  which,  if  it  could  be  established  with  certainty, 
would  remove  all  doubt  and  provide  a  satisfactory  conclusion.  If 
the  correspondence  took  place  in  1806  it  would  be  impossible  to 
avoid  the  unsatisfactory  assumption. 

The  head  of  the  famous  house  of  Simrock  once  told  the 
author  that  the  letters  written  to  his  father  by  Beethoven  had  been 
stolen  (they  have  since  been  recovered),  and  that  the  only  possible 
information  on  the  point  might  be  obtained  from  the  old  business 
books  of  the  house.  The  author  asked  that  they  be  examined 
for  him  and  his  request  was  most  courteously  complied  with,  with 
the  result  that  he  was  provided  with  the  excerpts  from  the  letters 
of  which  he  has  made  use  in  a  later  chapter.  To  his  great  satis- 
faction the  most  important  of  the  letters  bears  date  May  31,  1807. 
This  and  the  letter  following  show  that  Beethoven  spent  the 
months  of  June  and  July  1807  in  Baden. 

The  result  would,  then,  seem  to  be  irrefutable: — there  is  an 
error  of  one  day  in  Beethoven's  date.  The  letter  was  written  in 
the  summer  which  he  spent  partly  in  Hungary,  partly  in  Silesia — 


Beethoven's  Mor\l  Char.\cter  Vindicated       333 

the  summer  of  1806.  In  all  the  years  from  1800  to  1815  there 
is  no  other  summer  in  which  he  might  have  written  the  letter 
within  the  first  ten  days  of  July  unless  we  choose  to  assume  a 
state  of  facts  which  would  do  violence  to  probability. 

But  our  contention  has  a  much  more  serious  purpose  than 
the  determination  of  the  date  of  a  love-letter;  it  is  to  serve  as 
the  foundation  for  a  highly  necessary  justification  of  Beethoven's 
character  at  this  period  in  his  life.  The  editor  of  Beethoven's 
letters  to  Gleichenstein  which  appeared  in  "Westermann's 
Monatsheften"  (1865)  ^  learned  from  Gleichenstein's  widow  that 
the  composer  had  once  made  a  proposal  of  marriage  to  her  sister 
Therese  Malfatti.  On  the  strength  of  this  information,  and  certain 
references  in  the  letters  themselves,  the  editor  founded  a  singular 
theory; — Beethoven,  says  the  editor  in  question,  fell  in  love  with 
"the  dark-brown  Therese,"  who,  despite  the  fact  that  she  was 
"then  only  14  years  old  (in  1807),  was  fully  developed."  "His 
love  for  her  was  as  rapid  in  its  growth  as  it  was  in  its  passionateness, 
but  was  not  returned  then  or  later.'*  "The  affair  was  plainly  embar- 
rassing to  the  family,  for  the  passion  of  the  half-deaf,  very  eccentric 
man  of  36  for  a  girl  of  fourteen  could  not  fail  in  the  long  run  to 
become  dangerous  {misslich)." 

"Why,  very  well;  I  hope  here  be  truths,"  as  the  Fool  says 
in  "Measure  for  Measure." 

Reflect  that  this  was  the  year  of  the  Mass  in  C  and  tlie  C 
minor  Symphony,  and  imagine  the  picture:  Beethoven,  the  mighty 
master,  occupied  in  developing  works  which  stirred  the  deepest 
depths  of  the  soul.  Such  on  one  hand;  on  tJie  other  "the  lover, 
sighing  like  a  furnace,  with  a  woeful  ballad  made  to  his  mistress' 
eyebrow."  Or,  if  one  prefer,  instead  of  tlie  first  picture,  a  half- 
deaf,  eccentric,  36-year  old  Corydon,  wandering  al)<)iit  by  the 
side  of  mossy  brooks  vainly  pii)ing  tunes  to  a  mclaiiclioly  early- 
developed  and  early-loved  Phyllis!  Let  us  admit  for  the  nonce 
that  tlie  amiable  picture  of  Beethoven  in  1807  is  the  correct  one; 
tliere  is  yet  no  excess  of  reason  based  on  sense  or  i)rol>abilily,  no 
boundlessness  of  imagination  or  immature  logic  which  can  assert 
that  the  letter  of  July  6  and  7  was  written  to  Therese  Malfatti, 
then  13  years  old. 

There  is  still  another  assumy)tion  or  suspicion  which  must 
be  tourlicd  upon  here  and  if  |)ossible  refuted;  it  is  that,  even  in 
1806,  Beethoveu's  letter  w;is  addressed  tf)  tlie  Countess  (iuieeiardi, 
then  already  tiie  wife  of  Count  Gallenberg.     Moreover,  a  more 

'Ludwig  Nohl. 


334  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

natural  solution  of  the  difficulties  could  scarcely  be  found  if  it 
could  but  be  proved  or  accepted  as  true  that  the  composer  was 
one  of  those  exalted  musical  geniuses,  recently  lauded  by  a  writer, 
who  are  "no  longer  subject  to  once  accepted  notions  of  morals 
and  ordinary  duties,"  and  who  refuse  to  permit  "narrow-minded 
ethics  to  be  lifted  to  the  real  laws  of  existence."  If  Beethoven  had 
been  a  man  of  this  character,  what  more  should  we  need  to  believe 
that  in  the  summer  of  1806  he  and  the  lady  were  impatiently 
awaiting  the  moment  when  they  might  steal  away  from  husband 
and  children  and  thus  attain  "their  purpose  to  live  together," 
heart  closely  pressed  to  heart?  Here  a  single  objection  will 
suffice:  Count  Gallenberg  and  his  wife  had  at  this  time  long 
been  in  Naples.  No!  This  disgrace  does  not  attach  to  the  name 
of  Beethoven. 

Those  who  have  thought  it  worth  while  to  follow  the  discus- 
sion thus  far  will  now  understand  why  so  much  time  and  labor 
were  spent  on  removing  all  doubt  as  to  the  dates  of  the  letters 
of  June  29,  1801,  and  July  6  and  7,  1806,  and  this  after  a  long 
time  had  passed  during  which  there  had  never  arisen  a  doubt  in 
the  mind  of  the  writer.  For  if  these  dates  remain  jBxed,  the 
extended  romantic  structures  which  have  been  reared  on  the 
sandy  foundation  of  conjecture  must  fall  in  ruins. 

The  conclusions  reached  by  the  study  seem  as  natural  as 
they  are  satisfactory  and  indubitable.  Young  Beethoven,  pos- 
sessed of  a  temperament  susceptible  and  excitable  in  the  highest 
degree  and  endowed  not  only  with  extraordinary  genius  but, 
leaving  out  of  consideration  his  physical  misfortunes,  with  other 
attractive  qualities — the  great  pianist,  the  beloved  teacher,  the 
highly  promising  composer,  admired  and  accepted  gladly  in  the 
highest  circles  of  society  of  the  metropolis — this  Beethoven,  as 
Wegeler  expresses  it,  was  always  in  love  and  generally  in  the 
highest  degree.  As  he  took  on  years,  however,  his  passions 
cooled,  and  it  is  a  truth  of  daily  observation  that  at  the  last  a 
strong  and  lasting  attachment  can  obtain  mastery  over  the  most 
vacillating  and  fickle  lover.  According  to  our  conviction  this  was 
also  the  case  with  Beethoven,  and  most  assuredly  the  famous 
love-letter  was  addressed  to  the  object  of  a  wise  and  honorable 
love  which  had  taken  control  over  him.  If  this  be  true,  and  if 
he  was  so  violently  in  love  in  1806,  it  follows  that  the  references 
in  the  Gleichenstein  correspondence  which  their  editor  applies  to 
a  "completely  developed  girl  of  fourteen  years  of  age,"  in  1807, 
were  aimed  at  an  entirely  different  individual;  and  this,  too,  is  the 
conviction  of  the  author. 


The  Countess  Therese  von  Brunsayick         335 

But  who  is  the  lady?  it  is  asked. ^  The  secret  was  too  well 
guarded;  and  she  is  still  unknown.     This,  only,  is  certain:  that 

1st.  Of  all  Beethoven's  friends  and  acquaintances  of  the 
other  sex  whose  names  are  on  record  one  only  could  have  been  the 
"Immortal  Beloved"  of  the  letter  and  the  party  to  this  project 
of  marriage;  2nd,  all  the  circumstantial  evidence  points  to  her 
and  to  her  only;  3rd,  long  after  these  two  points  were  determined, 
Robert  Volkmann,  the  fine  musician  and  composer,  in  conversation 
with  the  author,  mentioned  a  local  tradition  at  Pesth  which 
directly  names  her  as  having  been  once  the  beloved  and  even 
(if  our  memory  serve)  the  bride  in  spe  of  Beethoven.  This  lady 
was  the  Countess  Therese  von  Brunswick. 

The  scattered  notices  of  the  Brunswicks  in  these  volumes, 
if  taken  connectedly,  may  appear  of  deeper  significance  than  has 
been  suspected.  They  were  of  the  earliest  and  warmest  friends 
of  Beethoven  in  Vienna;  they  "adored  him,"  said  their  cousin, 
the  Countess  Gallenberg;  Beethoven  wrote  the  song  "Ich  denke 
dein"  in  the  album  of  the  sisters  and  dedicated  it  to  them  when 
he  published  it  in  1805;  he  received  from  Therese  her  ])ortrait 
in  oil;-  visited  the  Brunswicks  in  the  autumn  of  1806  and  composed 
the  Sonata,  Op.  57,  which  he  dedicated  to  the  brother;  and  imme- 
diately after  his  departure  wrote  the  passionate  love-letter, — to 
whom.^ — wrote  to  Count  Franz,  "Kiss  your  sister  Therese,"  and 
in  the  autumn  of  1809,  wliile  on  another  visit  to  tJiem,  comjiosod 
the  Sonata,  Op.  78,  dedicated  to  the  sister.  A  few  months  later 
the  marriage  project  fell  through. 

Two  remarks  may  be  noted  here  which,  if  of  no  great  impor- 
tance,   are   worth    the   space   they   will    occupy:    1st.    After    I  lie 

'These  conrlndinj;  remarks,  from  cliai)t(Ts  \'  and  \  I  of  \ Dl.  HI  of  llie  first  (ierinan 
edition,  are  broiiKlit  in  here  to  complete  tiie  author's  pulilie  utteraiiees  on  the  siil>ject 
of  the  identity  of  the  "Immortal  Heloveil."  Thayer  is  discussing;  tlie  failure  of  Heet- 
hoven's  marriage  jjroject. 

'Amongst  Heethovcn's  postlmmous  effects  was  found  a  portrait  in  nil  hy  .1.  15. 
von  Lampi  with  the  following  inscription  on  tiie  hack  of  the  frame: 

To  the  Unique  CJenius 
To  the  (ireat  Artist 

To  the  Cood  Man  (I)em  selfencn  ficnic.  I)i-m  grossen 

from  T.  IJ.  Kllnsthr,  Drmgiilcn  Mcnschen) 

This  picture  went  from  the  possession  of  the  widow  of  Heethovcn's  ni-i)hcw  Karl  into 
that  of  (;corg  Hcilmeshcrgcr  Sr.  in  IHfU  and  was  presented  hy  liis  gran<lson  to  the 
heethovcn-IlauH  Vinin  in  Monn,  where  it  is  now  preserved.  It  is,  in  all  pmhahility, 
tlie  portrait  of  wlii<li  Meethoven  sjieaks  in  a  |i-ller  to  Count  Frnti/,  von  llrunswick. 
dated  July  11.  IHll:  "Since  I  rlo  not  know  how  llie  porlrail  f(  II  into  your  hands,  it 
would  be  best  were  you  to  bring  it  with  yon;  an  amiable  artist  will  no  <loulil  be  f.tund 
who  will  copy  it  for  the  sake  of  friendship."  Hesides  the  porlrail  of  the  (■r)untes9 
Therese  there  was  also  a  mc-dallif)n  picture  of  the  Countess  (Hiiccinrdi  amongst  the 
effects  left  by  Beethoven.  It  was  i<|entified  as  such  by  her  son,  who  died  in  ISO.'}.  (Sec 
Breuning,  "Ausdem  Schwarzspanierhausc,"  p.  lil.) 


336  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

appearance  of  the  dedication  of  Op.  78,  Therese  von  Brunswick's 
name  disappears  from  all  papers,  notes  and  memoranda  concerning 
Beethoven  collected  by  Jahn  or  the  author;  yet  the  friendship 
between  him  and  the  brother  remained  undisturbed.  2nd.  This 
friendship  of  thirty  years'  duration  was  broken  only  by  death;  yet, 
although  in  the  later  years  long  periods  of  separation  were  frequent, 
their  known  epistolary  correspondence  is  comprised  in  some  half 
dozen  letters,  and  the  half  of  these  with  false  dates.  Were  these 
all.'*  If  not,  why  should  all,  except  just  these  which  are  neither 
of  particular  interest  nor  importance,  have  been  destroyed  or 
concealed .f*  Unless,  indeed,  there  was  a  secret  to  be  preserved. 
Therese  von  Brunswick  lived  to  a  great  age,  having  the  reputation 
of  a  noble  and  generous  but  eccentric  character.  In  regard  to 
Beethoven,  so  far  as  is  known,  she,  like  Shakespeare's  Cardinal, 
*'died  and  made  no  sign."     Because  she  could  not.'*^ 

*  * 

(Postscript  by  the  Editor  of  the  English  Edition.) 

There  are  other  candidates  than  the  Countesses  Guicciardi 
and  Brunswick  for  the  honor  of  having  been  the  object  of  what, 
it  must  be  admitted,  was  Beethoven's  supreme  love; — or,  at  least, 
there  are  other  women  for  whom  writers  have  put  in  pleas. 
Though  Dr.  Kalischer  professed  to  believe  that  he  had  effectually 
disposed  of  the  Thayer  hypothesis,  it  is  significant  that  by  far 
the  most  notable  champions  who  fought  for  their  respective  lady- 
loves are  those  who  entered  the  lists  for  the  Countess  Therese. 
I  mention  only  the  American  Thayer;  the  Englishman  Grove;  the 
Germans  La  Mara,  Storck,  and  Prelinger  (like  Kalischer,  the 
editor  of  a  collection  of  Beethoven's   letters);    the  Frenchmen 

iRiemann  in  his  revision  of  Vol.  II  of  this  biography  says,  "The  statement  in  the 
second  and  third  volumes  of  the  first  edition  were  based  on  the  belief  that  the  serious 
marriage  project  of  Beethoven  which  led  him  to  ask  Wegeler  to  get  for  him  [a  tran- 
script of]  his  baptismal  certificate,  but  which  fell  through  soon  after,  must  needs  be 
connected  with  the  person  to  whom  the  love-letter  was  addressed.  But  since  it  has 
been  determined  by  a  careful  study  of  dementi's  letters  that  Beethoven's  offer  of 
marriage,  in  1810,  most  certainly  referred  to  Therese  von  Malfatti,  who,  however,  as 
we  shall  see,  cannot  be  considered  in  connection  with  the  love-letter,  this  combination 
is  become  untenable.  A  large  number  of  Beethoven's  letters  must  be  assigned  to 
entirely  different  years,  because  dementi's  correspondence  with  his  partner  Coilard 
makes  it  certain  that  the  honorarium  for  the  works  sold  in  1807  was  not  paid  out  till 
the  spring  of  1810.  The  relations  of  Beethoven  to  Therese  Malfatti  are  thus  transferred 
from  1807  to  1809-1810,  and  it  can  no  longer  be  maintained  that  1810  was  the  year 
in  which  Beethoven's  prospect  of  a  marriage  with  Therese  Brunswick  came  to  an  end." 
This  means  that  Dr.  Riemann  believes  that  while  a  man  of  38  years  of  age  would  not 
write  a  love-letter  like  Beethoven's  to  a  girl  of  less  than  14  years  he  would  try  to  marry 
her  when  he  was  40  and  she  a  trifle  under  16. 


Dr.  Kalischer's  Defence  of  Schindler  337 

Rolland  and  Chantavoine,  both  biographers  of  Beethoven. 
Schindler,  Nohl  and  Kalischer  carried  the  sleeve  of  the  Countess 
Guicciardi;  Frimmel  and  Volbach  seemed  gently  inclined  to 
Magdalena  Willmann,  the  actress  who  said  that  Beethoven  wanted 
to  marry  her  but  she  would  not  have  him  because  he  was  so  ugly 
and  "half  crazy";  Dr.  Wolfgang  A.  Thomas-San-Galli  is  the 
champion  of  Amalia  Sebald  as  the  "Immortal  Beloved"  and  of 
1812  as  the  year  in  which  the  love-letter  was  written.  Of  his 
book  ("Die  Unsterbliche  Geliebte  Beethovens,  Amalia  Sebald," 
Halle,  1909)  it  may  be  said  that  its  merit  lies  in  its  close,  pertinent 
and  dispassionate  reasoning — the  quality  in  which  all  of  Dr. 
Kalischer's  arguments  are  most  deficient. 

Schindler's  story  touching  the  letter  and  Giulietta  Guicciardi 
was  unquestioned  for  thirty  years,  when  doubt  was  cast  upon  it 
by  Thayer's  investigations,  which  fixed  the  date  as  1806  and 
thereby  eliminated  the  Countess  as  the  composer's  inamorata. 
In  Vol.  II,  Thayer  contented  himself  with  a  demonstration  that 
the  Countess  could  not  be  the  "Immortal  Beloved."  In  Vol.  Ill, 
in  the  body  of  the  book,  he  suggested  that  in  "greatest  probability" 
the  lady  was  the  Countess  Therese  von  Brunswick.  It  does  not 
appear  that  he  ever  went  further  than  this,  but  he  died,  in  1897, 
in  full  conviction  that  by  no  possibility  could  the  Guicciardi  be 
rehabilitated  in  the  place  she  had  so  long  occupied  in  the  minds  of 
historians  and  romancers.  His  first  contribution  to  the  question 
(the  first  portion  of  this  chapter)  immediately  called  forth  a 
defence  of  Schindler's  story.  Dr.  Alfred  Christian  Kalischer  being 
in  the  van  of  Schindler's  defenders.  Instead  of  traversing  the 
evidence  in  the  case  as  Thayer  had  done,  Kalischer  proi)osed 
and  followed  the  "inductive  method"  thus:  Beethoven  could  not 
have  indulged  in  such  transports  at  as  late  a  date  as  180G  or  1807. 
They  were  the  outpourings  of  a  sentimentalist,  one  of  tlic 
Werther  sort.  Beetlioven  had  said  in  the  letter  that  he  could 
only  live  wholly  with  })is  love  or  not  at  all — an  expression  not  to 
be  thought  of  in  connection  with  a  genius  who  had  created  the 
"Eroica"  symphony,  "Fidelio,"  the  Sonatas  in  D  minor  and  F 
minor  (Op.  57),  the  Pianoforte  Concertos  in  C  minor  and  G  major, 
the  Quartets.  Of).  59,  had  finished  tlie  fourth  Syinpliony  and 
sketfhed  the  C  minor  and  the  "Pastoral"  could  such  a  genius 
believe  for  a  moment  that  lie  could  not  live  without  the  object 
of  his  love?  etc.  The  whole  argument  was  merely  rhetoric  and 
psychologically  speculative. 

In  a   criticism  of  Thayer's    third  volume,  written  for  "Der 
Clavierlehrer"  in  1879,  Kalischer  took  uj)  the  subject  of  Therese 


338  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

Brunswick  and,  pursuing  his  old  style  of  argumentation,  urged 
that  the  "Immortal  Beloved"  was  Giulietta  and  not  Therese 
because,  forsooth,  Beethoven  had  dedicated  the  C-sharp  minor 
Sonata  to  the  former  and  nothing  better  than  the  Sonata  in  F- 
sharp  major,  Op.  78,  composed  in  1809,  to  the  latter.  Kalischer 
saw  no  force  in  the  fact  that  sketches  for  the  so-called  "Moonlight" 
Sonata  antedated  the  dedication  by  a  considerable  period;  the 
essential  things  in  his  mind  were  the  dedication  and  that  Lenz 
thought  highly  of  the  C-sharp  minor  and  little  of  the  Fantasia 
for  Pianoforte,  Op.  77,  dedicated  by  Beethoven  "to  his  friend" 
Brunswick,  and  still  less  of  the  F-sharp  Sonata  dedicated  to 
"another  member  of  the  house  of  Brunswick";  and  that  while 
Marx  had  described  the  C-sharp  minor  Sonata  as  "the  low  hymn 
of  love's  renunciation"  he  did  not  consider  the  F-sharp  major 
Sonata  as  worthy  even  of  mention. 

These  essays,  together  with  another  in  which  Dr.  Kalischer 
performed  with  great  energy  the  work  of  disposing  of  the  romantic 
vaporings  of  a  writer  who  called  herself  Mariam  Tenger,  who 
had  published  a  book  ("Beethoven's  Unsterbliche  Geliebte,  nach 
personlichen  Erinnerungen")  at  Bonn  in  1890,  in  which  she  affected 
to  prove  what  Thayer  had  set  down  as  merely  a  probability.  This 
waiter  (who  had  most  obviously  taken  her  cue  from  Thayer, 
though  she  protested  that  she  had  not  read  his  biography  when 
she  wrote  her  book)  professed  to  have  had  the  tale  from  the  lips 
of  the  Countess  Brunswick  herself,  that  Beethoven,  while  visiting 
at  Martonvasar,  the  country-seat  of  the  Brunswicks,  in  May, 
1806,  had  become  secretly  engaged  to  the  Countess,  no  one  else 
knowing  the  fact  except  Beethoven's  friend  Count  Franz  von 
Brunswick.  Dr.  Kalischer  found  little  difficulty  in  demolishing 
a  large  portion  of  the  fantastic  fabric  reared  by  Mariam  Tenger, 
especially  that  portion  w^iich  professed  to  rest  upon  the  alleged 
testimony  of  a  "Baron  Spaun"  who  was  plainly  a  creation  of 
the  romancer's,  though  a  veritable  Spaun  did  figure,  largely  and 
creditably,  in  the  life-history  of  Schubert.  Not  content  with  this 
the  critic  went  further,  and  reviewing  the  sentimental  career  of 
Beethoven  from  1806  to  1810  (in  which  latter  year  it  is  supposed 
the  relations  between  him  and  the  Countess  Brunswick  came  to 
an  end),  he  protested  that,  in  1807,  Beethoven  was  in  love  with 
Therese  Malfatti,  then  a  girl  of  14  years. 

That  question  had  already  been  discussed  by  Thayer,  as  we 
have  seen.  So  also  had  the  identity  of  Baron  Spaun  by  Marie 
Lipsius,  known  in  musical  literature  by  her  pen-name  La  Mara, 
who  called  attention  to  inaccuracies  in  the  Tenger  story  in  the  first 


La  Mara  and  the  Countess  Therese  339 

of  a  collection  of  essays  entitled  "Classisches  und  Romantisches 
aus  der  Tonwelt,"  published  in  Leipsic  in  1891.  The  same 
author  ^Yho,  in  all  her  writings  on  the  subject,  has  stoutly  main- 
tained the  correctness  of  Thayer's  theory,  made  the  most  valuable 
contribution  yet  offered  to  the  controversy  by  her  book,  "Beet- 
hoven's Unsterbliche  Geliebte.  Das  Geheimniss  der  Grafin 
Brunsvick  und  ihre  Memoiren,"  published  by  Breitkopf  and 
Hartel  in  1909.  To  this  book  it  is  necessary  to  pay  rather  extended 
attention;  but  before  its  contents  are  passed  in  review  it  deserves 
to  be  noted  that  Thayer,  who  followed  the  multitude  of  arguments 
for  and  against  his  hypothesis  with  the  greatest  interest  and  with  a 
characteristically  open  mind,  went  down  to  his  grave  with  his 
strong  conviction  unshaken  that  "in  greatest  probability"  the 
Countess  Therese  was  the  "Immortal  Beloved,"  To  La  INIara  he 
sent  a  letter  dated  January  22,  189*^,  to  which  attention  was 
called  in  a  foot-note  on  the  history  of  the  C-sharp  minor  Sonata 
in  an  earlier  chapter  of  this  work,  and  whicli,  through  the 
courtesy  of  the  lady  to  whom  it  was  addressed,  is  now  given  in 
substance: 

....  That  Mr.  Kalischer  has  adopted  Ludwig  Nohl's  strange  notion  of 
Beethoven's  infatuation  for  Therese  Malfatti,  a  girl  of  fourteen  years, 
surprises  me;  as  also  that  he  seems  to  consider  the  Cis  moll  Sonata  to 
be  a  musical  love  poem  addressed  to  Julia  Guicciardi.  He  ought  cer- 
tainly to  know  that  the  subject  of  that  Sonata  was,  or  rather  that  it 
was  suggested  by,  Seume's  little  poem  "Die  Beterin." 

I  pray  you  to  stop  here  and  read  before  proeeeding  the  first  j)art 
of  the  Lieheshrief.  Note  well  that  it  was  written  from  a  Badcort  so 
far  away  from  Vienna  that  he  journeyed  thither  in  a  coach  with  four 
horses  and  Esterhazy  with  eight.     And  now  to  tlie  essential  points. 

During  the  summer  of  1801,  W(;  know  that  Heclliovcii  lo(l<,'e(l  in 
Hetzendorf — where  ex-Kurfiirst  Franz  resided  and  died  July  '^(i,  that 
year — and  composed  his  "Christus  am  Olherg"  in  great  part  in  the  near 
Schonbrunn  garden.  We  know  that  he  wrotc^  on  .Iniu'  ^2\),  a  very  full 
account  of  his  increasing  d(>afness  to  Dr.  Wegeh'r.  Was  he,  only  seven 
days  later,  in  a  distant  lUidcorl,  writing  .v(/r/t  a  love-let N-r  to  a  yi)ung 
Grafin  not  yet  seventeen  years  old?  In  November  Ik;  again  wrote;  to 
Wegeler.  "Du  willst  wissen,"  he  says,  "wic;  es  mir  gehl.  was  idi  braiuhe," 
and  proceeds  to  descrihe  his  j)hysician's  treatment.  In  neither  of  tluvsc 
letters  is  there  the  remotest  liint  that  tlu;  doctor  sent  him  to  a  distant 
Badeort.  \\\  lH0'-2,  lieethoven's  summ<r  lod^'ing  was  in  Ileili^'ensladt 
vvliere  youru^  liies  came  often  f o  re<-ei\<!  his  inastf-r's  instructions.  There 
is  not  the  slightest  intimation  from  him,  nor  anywhere  else,  of  any  ahsrnce 
of  Beethoven  during  that  siwnmcr.  Did  Beethoven  write  flic  Lirhes- 
briefe  \n  July  and  the  so-called  TestanxTit — that  (lociimi-nt  of  despair  -in 
October.^  Ohservc  these  dates.  In  the  Llfhr.shrirfr  from  the  Badmrl 
July  G:  "Ich  kam  erst  Morgens  4  I'hr  geslern  hier  an."  Seven  days 
later,  July  18,  he  was  in  Vienna  writing  to  Breitkopf  and  Hiirtel! 


340  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

In  the  Testament  we  read:  "Dieses  halbe  Jahr  was  ich  auf  dem 
Lande  zubrachte,"  but  in  no  known  letter  or  writing  of  Beethoven's 
of  that  summer  is  there  any  reference  to  the  distant  Badeort. 

All  that  is  known  of  Beethoven  in  the  summer  of  1801  and  1802,  is 
against  the  journey  to  the  Badeort;  what  is  known  of  the  summer  of  1806 
is  for  it.  The  burden  of  proof  lies  upon  Mr.  Kalischer.  When  he  can 
prove  such  a  journey  in  1801  or  1802,  and  does  so,  it  will  be  one  point 
in  his  favor. 

The  method  pursued  by  La  Mara  in  her  investigation,  which 
extended  over  several  years,  was  much  like  that  of  Thayer:  in 
every  case  in  which  it  seemed  that  testimony  might  be  had  from 
the  mouths  of  living  persons  she  sought  to  obtain  it.  First  she 
visited  the  Countess  Marie  Brunswick  (or  Brunsvik,  as  the  Hun- 
garian branch  of  the  Braunschweigers,  or  Brunswicks,  spelled  the 
.name) ,  daughter  of  Count  Franz.  There  was  an  interview  followed 
by  a  correspondence.  The  Countess  said  that  the  family  knew 
nothing  whatever  of  the  alleged  romantic  attachment  between  her 
aunt  and  Beethoven.  She  recalled  that  Beethoven  had  a  "grosse 
Schwarmerei"  for  her  father's  cousin,  the  Countess  Guicciardi, 
afterwards  Gallenberg,  but  the  feeling  was  not  reciprocated  on 
the  part  of  the  Countess  so  far  as  had  been  learned.  The  family 
was  still  in  possession  of  three  or  four  letters  from  Beethoven  to 
her  father.  In  November,  1899,  she  sent  four  letters  to  La  Mara 
which  were  then  owned  by  her  brother.  Count  Geza  Brunswick. 
Three  of  these  letters  had  already  been  printed  in  the  first  edition 
of  this  biography.  The  only  one  bearing  on  the  subject  of  this 
study  was  that  in  which  Beethoven  begs  the  Count  to  kiss  his 
sister  Therese.  (This  letter  La  Mara  presents  in  facsimile  in 
her  book.)  Count  Gallenberg  (son  of  the  Countess  Giulietta  and 
the  last  of  the  family)  had  died  in  Vienna  in  1893,  two  years 
after  he  had  denied  that  there  had  been  any  talk  of  marriage 
or  mutual  love  between  his  mother  and  Beethoven.  The  testimony 
of  two  grand-children  of  the  Countess  Giulietta  was  asked.  "Beet- 
hoven wanted  to  marry  grandmamma,"  said  the  Countess  Bertha 
Kuenburg,  nee  Countess  Stolberg-Stolberg,  in  Salzburg,  "but  she 
loved  Gallenberg."  Baroness  Hess-Diller,  nee  Countess  Gallen- 
berg, in  Baden  said: 

Among  our  family  papers  there  is  absolutely  nothing  bearing  on 
the  matter — no  letters,  no  diary.  The  prejudices  of  the  period,  the 
incredible  point  of  view  held  by  persons  of  our  station  towards  artists,  even 
towards  artists  of  Beethoven's  greatness,  may  have  been  responsible  for 
the  fact  that  no  interest  was  felt  in  the  matter.  All  that  verbal  tradition 
has  brought  down  to  me  is  summed  up  in  the  one  circumstance  that 
Beethoven  figured  only  as  a  music-teacher  in  the  house  of  my  great- 
grand-parents. 


Testimony  of  Friends  and  Rel.\tions  341 

On  the  suggestion  of  the  grand-children  of  the  Countess 
Giulietta,  La  Mara  called  on  Fraulein  Karoline  Languider,  a  life- 
long friend  of  the  Gallenbergs,  who  had  lived  with  them  and  the 
Countess  Marie  Brunswick.     This  witness  testified: 

I  do  not  believe  that  the  Schwdrmerei  for  Countess  Julia  Gallen- 
berg-Guicciardi — though  it  may  have  been  warm  and  wonderful,  for 
she  was  a  very  beautiful,  elegant  woman  of  the  world — ever  took  such 
possession  of  the  heart  of  Beethoven  as  did  the  later  love  for  Countess 
Therese  Brunsvick,  which  led  to  an  engagement.  That  was  deci- 
dedly his  profoundest  love,  and  that  it  did  not  result  in  marriage,  it  is 
said,  was  due  to  the — what  shall  I  call  it? — real  artistic  temperament 
(Natur)  of  Beethoven,  who,  in  spite  of  his  great  love,  could  not  make 
up  his  mind  to  get  married.  It  is  said  that  Countess  Therese  took  it 
greatly  to  heart.  Having  lived  during  my  childhood  with  my  parents 
in  Pressburg,  I  often  heard — with  childish  ears,  of  course — persons  speak 
about  the  matter,  and  am  able  to  remember  that  Countess  Therese  was 
greatly  beloved,  and  that  my  mother  was  always  very  glad  when  she 
came  to  Pressburg,  which  was  every  year. 

La  Mara  having  sent  Fraulein  Languider  some  of  her  writings 
and  a  copy  of  Lampi's  portrait  of  the  Countess  Therese,  she  wrote 
on  January  24,  1901:  "After  all  that  has  been  said  pro  and  contra 
I  remain  of  the  unalterable  opinion  that  the  Countess  Therese 
was  the  'Immortal  Beloved'  and  fiancee  of  the  great  master, 
concerning  which  fact  I  heard  innumerable  conversations  in  my 
childhood,  and  that  the  portrait  is  hers.  Countess  Marie  does  not 
see  a  resemblance,  but  I  do  not  trust  her  memory."  Countess 
Marie  Brunswick  had  said  to  La  Mara  that  she  did  not  consider 
the  painting  which  is  now  preserved  in  the  Beethovenhaus  in 
Bonn  a  portrait  of  her  aunt;  "but,"  says  La  Mara,  "since  tliere 
was  a  difference  of  57  years,  she  could  no  longer  judge  of  a  likeness 
with  the  youthful  picture." 

Count  Geza  Brunswick,  son  of  Beetlioven's  friend,  died  in 
the  spring  of  1902,  having  outlived  his  sister  Marie.  TJk'  direct 
line  of  Brunswicks  reached  its  end  in  him.  The  castles  Korompa 
and  Martonvasar  passed  into  oilier  hands.  Count  Franz's  art 
collection  was  sold  at  auction  in  \'i(niia,  but  the  widow  of  Count 
Geza  retained  possession  of  the  Be('t]u)vcii  relics  (the  letters  and 
an  oil  y)ortrait)  and  took  them  with  her  to  Florence,  where  sub- 
sequently .she  married  t)ie  Marehe.se  Cai)i)oni.  She,  too,  gave 
her  testimony:  "It  is  certain  that  there  were  .soul-relationships 
between  Beethoven  and  Therese  Brunsvik." 

Next,  La  Mara  went  to  Pressburg  (in  .search  of  such  traditions 
as  Thayer  had  found  in  Pesth),  working  on  tin-  hint  thrown  out 
by   Fraulein   Languider.     In   Pressburg  .she   met  Johaiin    Batka, 


342  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

municipal  archivist,  who  bore  testimony  to  the  fact  that  a  relative 
of  the  Countess  Therese  Brunswick,  who  was  in  possession  of  her 
memoirs  (a  copy,  evidently,  since  La  Mara  obtained  the  original 
from  the  family  of  Count  Deym),  had  persuaded  him  to  believe 
that  Therese  was  the  "Immortal  Beloved"  and  secret  fiancee  of 
Beethoven.  After  La  Mara  had  published  the  results  of  her 
investigation  in  the  January  number  for  1908  of  the  "Neue  Rund- 
schau," the  grand-niece  of  Countess  Therese,  Isabella,  Countess 
Deym,  and  her  sister  Madame  Ilka  Melichar,  confirmed  the 
statement  that  the  letter  had  been  addressed  to  their  illustrious 
grand-aunt.  An  estrangement  had  sprung  up  between  Count 
Franz  and  his  sister  Therese  after  his  marriage;  but  the  intimacy 
between  the  sisters  Therese  and  Josephine,  Countess  Deym,  had 
continued,  and  the  romance,  never  known  to  the  families  of  Count 
Franz  and  his  sister  Countess  Teleky,  had  come  down  as  a  tradition 
in  the  family  of  Count  Deym. 

The  rest  of  La  Mara's  book  is  filled  with  the  memoirs  of 
Therese  Brunswick,  which  she  began  writing  in  September,  1846, 
and  called  "My  Half-Century."  In  introducing  the  interesting 
document,  La  Mara  thought  herself  compelled  to  abandon  Thayer's 
contention  that  the  love-letter  had  been  written  in  1806,  and  sub- 
stituted 1807  (a  date  urged  also  by  Ladislaw  Jachinecki,  in  an 
article  published  in  the  "Zeitschrift  der  Internationalen  Musik- 
gesellschaft"  for  July  and  August,  1908),  on  the  ground  that  1806 
had  become  untenable,  1807  agreed  with  the  almanac  and  that 
Beethoven's  sojourn  at  Baden  in  the  summer  of  1807  did  not  pre- 
clude a  visit  to  Hungary  of  three  weeks'  duration  between  the 
end  of  June  and  July  26,  La  Mara  was  persuaded  to  make  the 
change  by  her  discovery  in  the  memoirs  of  the  fact  that  on  July  5, 
1806,  Countess  Therese  was  in  Transylvania  visiting  her  sister 
Charlotte,  Countess  Teleky,  and  was  present  when  the  latter 
gave  birth  to  a  daughter,  Blanca,  on  that  date.  Having  assumed, 
with  Thayer,  that  Beethoven  wrote  the  love-letter  very  soon 
after  a  visit  to  the  Brunswicks  at  Korompa  (which  is  her  reading 
of  the  mysterious  "K"  in  the  letter),  and  sent  it  from  a  neighboring 
watering-place,  convinced  that  Therese  was  with  her  sister  on 
July  6,  1806,  she  adopted  the  theory  that  the  letter  was  written 
in  1807,  in  which  year  the  much-discussed  6th  of  July  fell  on  a 
Monday.  She  also  alludes  to  other  evidence  which  she  does  not 
describe  but  by  which  she  doubtless  means  a  letter  by  Beethoven  to 
Breitkopf  and  Hartel  dated  "Vienna,  July  5,  1806,"  which  became 
known  to  the  investigators  when  the  well-known  publishers  of 
Leipsic  made  a  private  publication  of  the  letters  from  the  composer 


New  Suggestions  Concerning  the  Letter        343 

found  in  their  archives.  This  was  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Thayer. 
Touching  this  letter  and  the  significance  of  Beethoven's  "K"  the 
writer  of  this  note  submits,  without  argument,  a  few  suggestions: 

1.  There  is  nothing  in  the  letter,  beyond  what  might  be 
called  its  atmosphere,  to  indicate  that  Beethoven  had  recently 
visited  the  object  of  his  love.  The  words  "To-daj^ — yesterday — • 
what  tearful  longings  for  you,"  to  which  such  an  interpretation 
might  be  given,  plainly  refer  only  to  his  mood  and  his  thoughts 
on  the  two  days  when  the  letter  was  in  his  mind;  they  tell  us 
nothing  about  the  distance  or  time  which  lay  between  him  and 
his  "feme  Geliebte." 

2.  It  is  plain  that  Beethoven  and  Prince  Esterhazy  started 
from  the  same  place  for  the  Hungarian  watering-place  whence  the 
letter  was  sent  (if  it  ever  was  sent),  Beethoven  travelling  by  an 
unusual  route  because  of  a  lack  of  horses,  the  Prince  by  the  usual 
route.  It  is  anything  but  likely  that  this  place  was  Marton- 
vasar;  it  is  much  more  probable  that  it  was  one  of  Esterhazy 's 
country-seats. 

3.  There  is  no  indication  in  the  letter  or  anywhere  else  how 
long  Beethoven  was  en  route,  but  the  journey  extended  over 
several  stages,  for  "at  the  stage  before  the  last"  he  was  warned 
not  to  travel  at  night,  etc.  He  may  have  been  as  far  in  the 
interior  of  Hungary  as  a  post-coach  could  carry  him  in,  let  us  say, 
two  days. 

4.  We  know  nothing  about  the  rapidity  of  travel  over  Hun- 
garian roads  a  century  ago,  but  we  do  know  that  as  earl^'^  as  103.5, 
i.  e.,  171  years  before  Beethoven  made  tlie  journey,  an  English  |)()st 
was  established  which  ma<le  the  trij)  from  London  to  Ediiiburgli 
and  h)ack  in  six  days;  and  Edinburgh  is  3.57  miles  from  London 
by  road.  The  English  mail-coach,  therefore  travelled  an  average 
of  119  miles  in  24  hours.  At  even  half  of  this  speed  Beethoven 
might  have  been  comparatively  near  the  place  in  wJiich  Countess 
Therese  sjx-nt  June  and  July,  IHOO. 

5.  This  place  was  not  Korompa,  but  may  liave  been 
Klausenburg  or  Kolosz,  the  priiicip;il  town  of  Tr;uisylv;iiiia, 
where  (Jount  'lY'leky  lived.     'J'his  is  at  Icist  remotely  j)ossil)le. 

6.  It  is  but  n.itural  to  assume  that  the  j)ost  between  tlie 
important  places  of  Hungary  and  the  metropolis  of  Transylvania 
ran  fairly  often  and  at  fair  speed,  ami  if  Beethoven  <"xperted  th.it 
a  letter  whieh  he  thought  would  bedetain<'(l  at  the  j)lare  wjiere  it 
was  posted  till  early  on  Thursday  morning  would  not  reach  its 
destination  till  Saturday,  that  destiruif ion  must  have  been  at  a 
considerable  distance   (a  two  days'  runj  from  tjie  watering-place. 


344  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

"So  near,  so  far!"  has  little  value  as  evidence;  it  is  an  ecstatic 
commonplace  concerning  the  unattainable,  or  that  which  seems 
to  be  so. 

7.  The  fact  that  the  Countess  Therese  was  not  at  Korompa 
in  the  early  part  of  July,  1806,  is  not  in  itself  a  sufficient  reason  for 
abandoning  that  date;  she  was  at  Klausenburg.  The  letter  to 
Breitkopf  and  Hartel,  though  plainly  dated  ''Vienna,  July  5,  1806" 
(Kalischer,  No.  109),  might  easily  be  disposed  of  as  convincing 
evidence  against  1806,  if  it  did  not  bear  the  publishers'  endorsement 
apparently  indicating  that  it  had  either  been  received  or  answered 
on  July  11  of  the  year.  Nothing  could  make  Beethoven's  care- 
lessness in  respect  of  dates  plainer  than  the  next  letter  of  Beet- 
hoven's in  which  he  replied  to  the  letter  which  Breitkopf  and 
Hartel  had  sent  him  in  answer  to  the  proposition  which  he  had 
made  in  the  letter  dated  July  5,  1806.  The  second  letter  is  dated 
*'Gratz,  am  3ten  Heu-Monat,"  (i.e.,  Hay  month,  otherwise  July) ; 
yet  it  refers  to  the  earlier  letter  and  was  written  at  Troppau  in 
Austrian  Silesia,  where  Beethoven  spent  the  fall  of  1806  as  the 
guest  of  Prince  Lichnowsky,  Breitkopf  and  Hartel's  endorsement 
shows  that  the  letter  was  received  and  answered  in  September. 
There  is  some  significance,  too,  in  the  fact  that  Beethoven  refers 
to  his  journey  from  Vienna  to  Troppau,  which  must  have  been 
nearly  200  miles  long,  as  a  short  one  ("Etwas  viel  zu  thun  und  die 
kleine  Reise  hierher,"  etc.).  (See  Kalischer,  Letter  No.  110.)  Beet- 
hoven may  have  written  the  letter  in  Vienna  on  one  of  the  first 
two  days  of  July,  or  even  the  last  of  June,  making  one  of  his 
characteristic  blunders  in  the  dating,  and  yet  have  been  deep  in 
Hungary  on  the  dubious  date  on  which  he  wrote  the  love-letter. 
The  endorsement  of  Breitkopf  and  Hartel,  "July  5,  1806,"  could 
not  have  been  anything  more  than  a  transcript  of  the  date  found 
on  the  letter. 

The  editor  is  well  aware  that  his  suggestions  do  not  clear  up 
the  mystery;  he  offers  them  nevertheless  for  what  they  are  now 
or  may  hereafter  be  worth.  The  references  to  Beethoven  in  the 
Memoirs  of  Therese  Brunswick  made  public  by  La  Mara  are  to 
be  found  in  the  following  excerpts: 

During  the  extraordinary  sojourn  of  18  days  in  Vienna  my  mother 
desired  that  her  two  daughters,  Therese  and  Josephine,  receive  Beet- 
hoven's invaluable  instruction  in  music.  Adalbert  Rosti,  a  schoolmate 
of  my  brother's,  assured  us  that  Beethoven  would  not  be  persuaded  to 
accept  a  mere  invitation;  but  if  Her  Excellency  were  willing  to  climb 
the  three  flights  of  winding  stairs  of  the  house  in  St.  Peter's  Place,  and 
make  him  a  visit,  he  would  vouch  for  a  successful  outcome  of  the  mission. 
It  was  done.     Like  a  schoolgirl,  with  Beethoven's  Sonatas  for  Violin  and 


The  Memoirs  of  Therese  von  Brunswick        345 

Violoncello  and  Pianoforte  under  my  arm,  we  entered.  The  immortal, 
dear  Louis  van  Beethoven  was  very  friendly  and  as  polite  as  he  could  be. 
After  a  few  phrases  de  part  et  d'autre,  he  sat  me  down  at  his  pianoforte, 
which  was  out  of  tune,  and  I  began  at  once  to  sing  the  violin  and  the 
'cello  parts  and  played  right  well.  This  delighted  him  so  much  that  he 
promised  to  come  every  day  to  the  Hotel  zum  Erzherzog  Carl — then 
Goldenen  Greifen.  It  was  May  in  the  last  year  of  the  last  century.  He 
came  regularly,  but  instead  of  an  hour  frequently  staid  from  1-2  to  -t  or  5 
o'clock,  and  never  grew  weary  of  holding  down  and  bending  my  fingers, 
which  I  had  been  taught  to  lift  high  and  hold  straight.     The  noble  man 

must  have  been  satisfied,  for  he  never  missed  a  single  day  in  the  16 

It  was  then  that  the  most  intimate  and  cordial  friendship  was  closely 
established  with  Beethoven,  a  friendship  which  lasted  to  the  end  of  his 
life.  He  came  to  Ofen;  he  came  to  Martonvasar;  he  was  initiated  into 
our  social  republic  of  chosen  people.  A  round  spot  was  planted  with 
high,  noble  lindens;  each  tree  had  the  name  of  a  meml)er,  and  even  in 
their  sorrowful  absence  we  conversed  with  their  symbols,  and  were  enter- 
tained and  instructed  by  them.  Often  after  giving  the  good-morning 
greeting  I  asked  the  tree  concerning  this  and  the  other  thing  which  I 
desired  to  have  explained,  and  it  never  failed  to  answer  me. 

Later,  speaking  of  the  loss  of  caste  and  poverty  of  her  i)rother- 
in-law  Count  Deym  (who  had  changed  his  name  to  ]\Iiiller  lu'cause 
of  a  duel  fought  before  he  had  attained  his  majority,  and  contlucted 
an  art  museum,  and  who  after  his  marriage  to  Therese's  sister 
Josephine  tried  in  vain  to  take  the  position  in  society  to  which  his 
rank  entitled  him),  the  Countess  writes: 

The  aristocracy  turned  its  back  on  him  because  he  had  gone 
into  business.  He  could  not  hunt  up  his  former  rich  acquaintances. 
Beethoven  was  the  faithful  visitor  at  the  house  of  the  young  Counte.ss — 
he  gave  her  lessons  gratis  and  to  be  tolerated  one  had  to  be  a  Heetlioven. 
The  numerous  relatives,  the  sisters  of  her  father  and  their  cliildren, 
frequently  visited  their  amial^le  niece.  Tableaux  were  occasionally 
given;  Deym,  being  himself  an  artist,  was  at  home  in  such  inafters, 
they  gave  him  pleasure.  .  .  .  There  were  musical  soiret's.  My  brother 
came  in  vacation-time  and  made  the  actjuaintance  of  Beethoven.  The 
two  musical  geniuses  became  intimately  associated  with  each  other, 
and  my  l>r<)ther  n<'ver  deserted  his  friend  in  his  frequent  financial  tronbles 
until  his,  alas!  too  early  death. 

It  was  about  this  time  (IHl  !•)  that  Baron  ('.  P.  came  very  ofl.ti  to 
Martonvasar.  He  was  fond  of  my  brother  and  waiit«'(l  to  learn  the 
science  of  agrienltnre  from  him  and  his  men.  We  played  chess  with 
each  other;  he  c:oneeived  a  |)assi<)n  for  me  ami  tried  to  embrae*'  me. 
From  that  moment  onward  he  frequently  repeated  his  offers  and  waited 
two  years  for  my  assent — for  I  always  answen-d  that  I  should  lia\e  to 
ponder  the  matter  and  had  had  no  lime  to  do  so.  I  had  remained  cold, 
an  earlier  passion  had  devoured  my  heart.  Josei)hine  needed  me,  her 
childr<'n,  who  were  very  prf)mising,  loved  me  atid  I  them — how  (-ould  I 
withdraw  myself  from  sueli  a  magic  eirele?  When  I  was  active  with 
the  Women's  Association  after  the  great  famine  of  LSI!),  we  met  on  the 


346  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

street.  I  was  in  a  carriage  and  had  the  coachman  stop  at  a  signal  from 
him.  He  came  to  the  carriage  and  said  significantly,  "Have  you  pondered, 
dear  Therese.'*  it  is  the  last  time  I  shall  ask  you.  I  am  going  to  Dresden 
and  shall  there  take  a  bride  unless  you  make  up  your  mind."  I  laugh- 
ingly gave  him  my  old  answer,  heart  and  head  being  occupied  with  the 
widespread  misery:  "I  really  haven't  had  time,  dear  Carl."  We  parted 
— he  became  my  enemy. 

Shortly  after  the  appearance  of  La  Mara's  essay  in  1909,  a 
singular  contribution  to  the  controversy  touching  the  "Immortal 
Beloved"  came  from  France.  The  essay  had  been  reviewed  in 
the  "Revue  des  Deux  Mondes,"  whereupon  the  editor  of  "Le 
Temps"  asked  one  of  its  contributors  to  make  inquiry  as  to  possible 
family  traditions  of  the  mother  of  M.  F.  de  Gerando,  a  grand- 
niece  of  the  Countess  Therese.  This  was  done,  but  the  lady 
would  hear  nothing  of  an  identification  of  her  grand-aunt  with 
the  object  of  Beethoven's  passion.  Then  came  journalistic  insinu- 
ations that  family  pride  had  much  to  do  with  the  denial.  This 
provoked  M.  de  Gerando,  who  undertook,  in  the  "Mercure  de 
France,"  to  answer  the  arguments  of  Thayer  and  La  Mara.  There 
was  one  ludicrous  feature  in  his  argument  and  a  new  revelation. 
He  disposed  of  the  kiss  sent  to  Therese  by  Beethoven  through 
her  brother  Count  Franz,  by  saying  it  was  only  such  a  familiarity 
as  an  old  man  might  be  permitted  to  indulge  towards  a  young 
pupil;  this  notwithstanding  that  Therese  was  born  in  1775  and 
Beethoven  in  1770  and  at  the  time  he  wrote  the  love-letter  was  still 
laboring  under  the  delusion  that  the  year  of  his  birth  was  1772. 
The  revelation  consisted  in  the  circumstance,  set  forth  by  him, 
that  among  the  letters  of  the  Countess  Therese  he  had  found  a 
thick  portfolio  inscribed  "The  Journal  of  my  Heart.  No  Romance," 
which  (I  quote  now  from  an  article  contributed  by  Mr.  Philip 
Hale  to  the  "New  Music  Review,"  in  the  numbers  for  July  and 
September,  1909) 

contained  many  letters,  notes,  messages  written  at  all  hours,  and  ad- 
dressed to  a  man,  whose  Christian  name  was  Louis.  Mr.  de  Gerando, 
who  has  been  unable  to  learn  the  family  name  of  this  man,  thought  at 
first,  and  naturally,  that  Beethoven  was  the  one;  but  this  Louis,  with 
whom  Therese  was  passionately  in  love,  to  whom  she  was  betrothed, 
without  the  knowledge  of  others,  was  a  young  man  of  noble  family, 
much  younger  than  Therese,  and  had  been  educated  at  the  Theresianum 
in  Vienna,  a  school  frequented  by  young  noblemen.  "Van  Beethoven 
was  older  than  the  Countess  Brunsvik.  He  was  not  noble  by  birth. 
He  never  attended  the  Theresianum."  The  letters  reveal  a  strange 
and  violent  passion.  They  are  at  times  cold  and  philosophical.  When 
Therese  signed  them  with  her  name,  they  were  true  love-letters.  When 
she  signed  them  with  the  Greek  word  "Diotima,"  the  name  of  a  priestess 


Recent  Investigations  in  France  347 

of  beauty  and  love  mentioned  by  Plato,  they  were  metaphysical  specu- 
lations, long-winded  discussions  on  the  end  of  life  and  the  nature  of 
love.  "I  do  not  think  that  Beethoven  would  have  been  contented  with 
this  correspondence  of  encyclopaedists."  There  were  a  few  letters  from 
Louis,  one  of  them  sealed  with  a  coat  of  arras,  and  thus  there  is  hope 
of  identification. 

One  might  answer,  continues  Mr.  Hale,  that  Therese  perhaps  loved 
twice;  that  there  were  two  Louis  in  the  field.  Mr.  de  Gerando  does 
not  find  this  probable.  Therese  was  cerebral  in  her  passion.  She  knew 
passion,  but  her  intellectual  side  revolted  at  it,  and,  when  her  brain 
controlled  her,  she  could  write  phrases  like  this:  *'To  think  that  I  could 
have  lowered  myself  even  to  the  point  of  marrying  him!"  (But,  one 
might  reply,  the  countess  might  well  have  said  this  with  reference  to 
Beethoven,  who  was  beneath  her  in  station.)  She  rained  contempt  on 
the  man  who  had  awakened  in  her  the  love  that  she  detested,  and  when 
she  had  driven  him  from  her  mind,  she  wrote  exultantly:  "Free!  Free! 
Free!"  Mr.  de  Gerando  argues  from  this  that  she  would  not  a  second 
time  have  given  up  her  independence,  but  nothing  that  a  woman  like 
Therese  would  have  done  should  surprise  even  a  great-grand-nephew. 

Mr.  de  Gerando  does  not  understand  how  any  love  affair  between 
Therese  and  Beethoven  could  have  escaped  the  curious  gossips  in  society, 
eager  for  news  and  scandal.  "The  adventure  of  Therese  de  Brunsvik 
with  Louis  appears  to  me  to  be  a  sufficient  reason  to  judge  the  tiicory 
of  Thayer  inane.  At  the  same  time  it  explains  to  us  the  genesis  of  this 
theory.  It  is  now  certain,  as  far  as  I  am  concerned,  that  some  resem- 
blance of  the  affair  between  the  Countess  of  Brunsvik  and  Louis  had 
come  down  to  Thayer.  The  similarity  of  the  names,  the  letter  in  which 
the  kiss  was  sent,  and  other  and  more  vague  indices,  led  the  American 
biographer  to  turn  the  noble  Hungarian  dame  into  the  'well-beloved'  of 
Beethoven."  Such  was,  in  substance,  the  article  of  Mr.  de  Gerando. 
It  is  fair  to  ask  him  how  the  love  affair  between  Therese  and  tli»^ 
mysterious  Louis,  young,  noble,  etc.,  escaped  the  curious  gossips,  escaped 
them  so  completely  that  even  the  great-grand-nej)liew  of  Therese  is 
unable  to  find  out  the  family  name  of  her  lover. 


Chapter  XXII 


The  Year  1802— The  Heihgenstadt  Will— Beethoven's  Views 
on  Arrangements — A  Defence  of  Beethoven's  Brothers — 
The  Slanders  of  Romancers  and  Unscrupulous  Biogra- 
phers— Compositions  and  Publications  of  the  Year. 

THE  impatient  Beethoven,  vexed  at  the  tardy  improvement 
of  his  health  under  the  treatment  of  Vering,  made  that  change 

of  physicians  contemplated  in  his  letter  to  Wegeler.  This  was 
done  some  time  in  the  winter  1801-1802,  and  is  all  the  foundation 
there  is  for  Schindler's  story  of  "a  serious  illness  in  the  first  months 
of  this  year  for  which  he  was  treated  by  the  highly  esteemed  physi- 
cian Dr.  Schmidt."  The  remarkable  list  of  compositions  and  publi- 
cations belonging  to  this  year  is  proof  sufficient  that  he  suffered 
no  physical  disability  of  such  a  nature  as  seriously  to  interrupt 
his  ordinary  vocations;  as  is  also  the  utter  silence  of  Ries, 
Breuning,  Czerny,  Dolezalek  and  Beethoven  himself.  The 
tone  of  the  letters  written  at  the  time  is  also  significant  on 
this  point. 

Concerning  the  failure  of  his  project  to  follow  the  example 
set  in  1800  and  give  a  concert  towards  the  close  of  the  winter  in 
the  theatre  we  learn  all  we  know  from  a  letter  from  his  brother 
Carl  to  Breitkopf  and  Hartel  dated  April  22,  1802.  Therein 
we  read: 

My  brother  would  himself  have  written  to  you,  but  he  is  ill-disposed 
towards  everything  because  the  Director  of  the  Theatre,  Baron  von 
Braun,  who,  as  is  known,  is  a  stupid  and  rude  fellow,  refused  him  the 
use  of  the  Theatre  for  his  concert  and  gave  it  to  other  really  mediocre 
artists;  and  I  believe  it  must  vex  him  greatly  to  see  himself  so  unworthily 
treated,  particularly  as  the  Baron  has  no  cause  and  my  brother  has 
dedicated  several  works  to  his  wife. 

When  one  looks  down  from  the  Kahlenberg  towards  Vienna 
in  the  bright,  sweet  springtime,  the  interesting  country  is  almost 
worthy  of  Tennyson's  description: 

[  348] 


Beethoven  at  Heiligexstadt  349 

It  lies 
Deep-meadowed,  happy,  fair  with  orchard-lawns 
And  bowery  hollows,  crown'd  with  summer  sea. 

Conspicuous  are  the  villages,  Dbbling,  hard  by  the  city 
Nussdorfer  line,  and  Heiligenstadt,  divided  from  Dobling  by 
a  ridge  of  higher  land  in  a  deep  gorge. 

Dr.  Schmidt,  having  enjoined  upon  Beethoven  to  spare  his 
hearing  as  much  as  possible,  he  removed  for  the  summer  to  the 
place  last  named.  There  is  much  and  good  reason  to  believe 
that  his  rooms  were  in  a  large  peasant  house  still  standing,  on 
the  elevated  plain  beyond  the  village  on  the  road  to  Nussdorf, 
now  with  many  neat  cottages  near,  but  then  probably  quite 
solitary.  In  those  years,  there  was  from  his  windows  an  unbroken 
view  across  fields,  the  Danube  and  the  Marchfeld,  to  the  Car- 
pathian mountains  that  line  the  horizon.  A  few  minutes'  walk 
citywards  brought  him  to  the  baths  of  Heiligenstadt;  or,  in  the 
opposite  direction,  to  the  secluded  valley  in  which  at  another 
period  he  composed  the  "Pastoral"  symphony.  The  vast  increase 
of  Vienna  and  its  environs  in  population,  has  caused  corresponding 
changes;  but  in  1802,  that  peasant  house  seems  to  have  offered 
him  everything  he  could  desire;  fresh  air,  sun,  green  fields,  delight- 
ful walks,  bathing,  easy  access  to  his  physician,  and  yet  a  degree 
of  solitude  which  now  is  not  easy  to  conceive  as  having  been 
attainable  so  near  the  capital. 

Part  of  a  letter  written  hence  to  Breitkopf  and  Iliirlcl,  but 
no  longer  in  the  possession  of  that  house,  affords  another  illustra- 
tion of  Beethoven's  excellent  common  sense  and  discrimination 
in  all  that  pertained  to  his  art. 

....  Concerninf?  arran^'cments  I  am  heartily  ^'lad  that  yon  rrjortod 
them.  The  unnatural  raf,'c  now  prevalent  to  transjjlant  even  /Hdnafortt' 
pieces  to  strin^'ed  instruments,  instruments  so  utterly  opposite  to  each 
other  in  all  respects,  ouf^ht  to  come  to  an  end.  I  insist  stoutly  that  only 
Mozart  could  arran^'C  his  |)ianoforte  pieces  for  other  iustrnnicnts— and 
Ilaydn — and,  without  wishing  to  ptit  myself  in  the  class  (»f  these  ^reat 
men,  I  also  assert  it  touching?  my  pianoforte  .sonatas  too,  since  not  only 
are  whole  passages  to  l)e  omitted  and  changed,  l)ut  also— things  are  to  be 
added,  and  here  lies  the  obstacle,  to  overcome  which  one  nuisL  eillu-r  be 
the  master  himself  or  at  least  have  the  same  skill  and  inreniivc  power— 
I  transcribed  a  single  one  of  my  sonatas  for  string  (piartet.'  yi<-l(ling  to 
great  i)ersnasion.  and  I  c«TfaiiiIy  know  that  it  would  not  be  an  easy 
matter  for  another  to  do  as  well. 

•The  Sonata  in  E,  Op.  14,  No.  1,  tran.spo8cd  to  F  major,  wan  pntilished  in  lft02.  Sec 
W.  Altmann,  "Ein  vergessenes  Strcirtiquartett  Beethovens,"'  "Die  Muxik,"  1905. 


350  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

The  difficulties  here  mentioned,  it  will  be  noticed,  are  those 
of  transcribing  pianoforte  music  for  other  instruments;  the  con- 
trary operation  is  so  comparatively  easy,  that  Beethoven  very 
rarely  performed  it  himself,  but  left  it  for  the  most  part  to  young 
musicians,  whose  work  he  revised  and  corrected. 

There  are  a  great  many  pieces  by  Beethoven  (says  Ries),  published 
with  the  designation:  Arrange  par  VAuteur  meme;  but  only  four  of 
these  are  genuine,  namely:  from  his  famous  Septet  he  arranged  first 
a  violin  quintet,  and  then  a  Pianoforte  Trio;  out  of  his  Pianoforte  Quintet 
(with  four  wind-instruments)  he  made  a  Pianoforte  Quartet  with  three 
string-instruments;  finally,  he  arranged  the  Violin'  Concerto  which  is 
dedicated  to  Stephan  von  Breuning  (Op.  61)  as  a  Pianoforte  Concerto. 
Many  other  pieces  were  arranged  by  me,  revised  by  Beethoven,  and 
then  sold  as  Beethoven's  by  his  brother  Caspar. 

Without  calling  in  question  here  the  general  statement  in 
this  citation,  it  may  be  remarked,  that  if  Ries  is  right  in  respect 
to  the  arrangement  of  the  Septet  as  a  Quintet,  the  work  remained 
in  manuscript,  for  the  one  published  was  by  Hoffmeister.  But 
the  Trio  was  begun  and,  as  is  believed,  finished  this  year.  Its 
history  has  been  told.  Ries's  statement  is  neither  exhaustive  nor 
altogether  exact  touching  the  arrangements  of  the  Septet.  More- 
over, in  1806,  without  Beethoven's  knowledge  or  consent,  he 
arranged  the  six  Quartets,  Op.  18,  and  the  three  Trios  for  strings. 
Op.  9,  as  Pianoforte  Trios. 

An  interesting  anecdote  from  the  "Notizen"  may  be  intro- 
duced here.     "Count  Browne,"  says  Ries, 

made  a  rather  long  sojourn  about  this  time  in  Baden  near  Vienna,  where 
I  was  called  upon  frequently  to  play  Beethoven's  music  evenings  in  the 
presence  of  enthusiastic  Beethovenians,  sometimes  from  notes,  some- 
times by  heart.  Here  I  had  an  opportunity  to  learn  how  in  the  majority  of 
cases  a  name  alone  is  sufficient  to  characterize  everything  in  a  compo- 
sition as  beautiful  and  excellent,  or  mediocre  and  bad.  One  day,  weary 
of  playing  without  notes,  I  improvised  a  march  without  a  thought  as  to 
its  merit  or  any  ulterior  purpose.  An  old  countess  who  actually  tor- 
mented Beethoven  with  her  devotion,  went  into  ecstasies  over  it,  think- 
ing it  was  a  new  composition  of  his,  which  I,  in  order  to  make  sport  of 
her  and  the  other  enthusiasts,  affirmed  only  too  quickly.  Unhappily 
Beethoven  came  to  Baden  the  next  day.  He  had  scarcely  entered 
Count  Browne's  room  in  the  evening  when  the  old  countess  began  to 
speak  of  the  most  admirable  and  glorious  march.  Imagine  my  embar- 
rassment! Knowing  well  that  Beethoven  could  not  tolerate  the  old 
countess,  I  hurriedly  drew  him  aside  and  whispered  to  him  that  I  had 
merely  meant  to  make  sport  of  her  foolishness.  To  my  good  fortune 
he  accepted  the  explanation  in  good  part,  but  my  embarrassment  grew 
when  I  was  called  upon  to  repeat  the  march,  which  turned  out  worse 
since  Beethoven  stood  at  my  side.     He  was  overwhelmed  with  praise 


MeLu\ncholy  Influen'ce  of  Heiligenstadt        351 

on  all  hands  and  his  genius  lauded,  he  listening  in  a  perturbed  manner 
and  with  growing  rage  until  he  found  relief  in  a  roar  of  laughter. 
Later  he  remarked  to  me:  "You  see,  my  dear  Ries,  those  are  the  great 
cognoscenti,  who  wish  to  judge  every  composition  so  correctly  and 
severely.  Only  give  them  the  name  of  their  favorite;  they  will  need 
nothing  more."  Yet  the  march  led  to  one  good  result:  Count  Browne 
immediately  commissioned  Beethoven  to  compose  three  Marches  for 
Pianoforte,  four  hands.  ^ 

The  seclusion  of  Heiligenstadt  was  of  itself  so  seductive  to 
Beethoven,  that  the  prudence  of  Dr.  Schmidt  in  advising  him  to 
withdraw  so  much  from  society,  may  be  doubted;  the  more, 
because  the  benefit  to  his  hearing  proved  to  be  small  or  none. 
It  gave  him  too  many  lonely  hours  in  which  to  brood  over  his 
calamity;  it  enabled  him  still  to  flatter  himself  that  his  secret  was 
yet  safe;  it  led  him  to  defer,  too  long  for  his  peace  of  mind,  the 
bitter  moment  of  confession;  and  consequently  to  deprive  himself 
needlessly  of  the  tender  compassionand  ready  sympalhy^of 
frien^sT^whose^Tips  were  sealed  so  long  as  he  withheld  his  con- 
fidence. But,  in  truth,  the  secret  so  jealously  guarded  was 
already  known — but  who  could  inform  him  of  it? — though  not 
long  nor  generally,  as  we  learn  from  Ries. 

It  was  well  for  Beethoven,  when  the  time  came  for  him  to 
return  to  the  city,  and  to  resume  the  duties  and  obligations  of 
his  profession.  To  what  depths  of  despondency  he  sometimes 
sank  in  those  solitary  hours  at  Heiligenstadt,  is  shown  by  a  re- 
markable and  most  touching  paper,  written  there  just  before  his 
return  to  town,  but  never  seen  by  other  eyes  until  afttT  his  death. 
Although  addressed  to  and  intended  for  both  liis  broUicrs,  it  is,  as 
Scliindler  Jias  remarked,  "surj)rising  and  singular,"  that  the  name 
"Johann"  is  left  utterly  blank  throughout — not  even  being  indi- 
cated by  the  usual.  ...  It  is  couched  in  terms  of  energetic  expres- 
sion, rising  occasionally  to  eIo(iuence — somewhat  rude  and  un- 
j)olished  ind<'«'d,  but,  perJiaf)s,  for  tliat  reason  tJie  more  striking. 
The  manuscript^  is  so  carefully  written,  and  disfigured  by  so  few 

'Those  dedicated  to  Princess  Esterhazy,  Op.  4.5. 

'This  TcstariKiif  or  rmmi'moria,  writti-ii  on  a  larjjc  foolscap  sheet,  appears  to  have 
\ti-i-i\  cli.scovercd  in  a  mass  of  loose  papers  piinliascd  hy  llie  elder  Arliiria  af  the  sale 
of  Meethoven's  effects  in  IHitl.  Kridursed  iiixm  it  is  an  ai  ktxiwle.ljfemeiil.  sixind  hy 
Jacob  Hotschevar,  the  guardian  (after  HreiiiiiiiK's  dejilh)  of  llie  coiiipoNer's  nephew, 
of  having?  received  it  from  .Arlaria  &  ("o.  Then  f<»ll<»\vs  a  similar  a«  knowle.ljjement 
of  its  reception  hy  .lohann  van  Ueethoven.  Its  next  poss<-ssor  appears  to  have  been 
.Alois  Ftiihs — the  great  colle<tor  nf  musical  nianiiseripls  ami  aiifojfraphs  of  mnsieinns. 
In  IS-^.?,  it  was  piirchaserl  hy  Krrist.  the  violiiiitt  fnf  wiiom  is  not  ktiowii.'j,  whr>  presenteii 
it  to  Mr.  Otto  arifi  Madame  .Jinny  I.ind  Ouldsehmidt  as  a  testimony  of  j;ratiliide  for 
their  vahialile  assistance  in  fine  of  his  cimcerts.  Hy  their  kindness  llw  present  writer 
was  allowed  to  make  a  very  careful  copy  on  April  i.  IHrtl.  As  prititid  in  the"\lln. 
Musikalische  Zeitung,"  hy  Sehindhr  anrl  f)thers.  it  differs  little  from  the  original,  though 


352  The  Life  of  Ltjdwig  van  Beethoven 

erasures  and  corrections,  as  to  prove  the  great  pains  taken  with 
it  before  the  final  copy  was  made.  The  closing  sentences,  in 
which  he  discovers  his  expectations  of  an  early  death,  have  ac- 
quired double  importance  since  the  publication  of  Schindler'5 
suicide  story,  for  the  decisive  manner  in  which  they  remove  every 
possible  suspicion  that,  even  in  his  present  hypochondria,  he 
could  contemplate  such  a  crime. 

Ries's  paragraph  upon  Beethoven's  deafness,  in  which  he 
relates  a  circumstance  alluded  to  in  the  document,  is  its  most 
fitting  introduction: 

As  early  as  1802,  Beethoven  suffered  from  deafness  at  various 
times,  but  the  afHiction  each  time  passed  away.  The  beginning  of  his 
hard  hearing  was  a  matter  upon  which  he  was  so  sensitive  that  one  had 
to  be  careful  not  to  make  him  feel  his  deficiency  by  loud  speech. 
When  he  failed  to  understand  a  thing  he  generally  attributed  it  to  his 
absent-mindedness,  to  which,  indeed,  he  was  subject  in  a  great  degree. 
He  Hved  much  in  the  country,  whither  I  went  often  to  take  a  lesson  from 
him.  At  times,  at  8  o'clock  in  the  morning  after  breakfast  he  would  say: 
"Let  us  first  take  a  short  walk."  We  went,  and  frequently  did  not  return 
till  3  or  4  o'clock,  after  having  made  a  meal  in  some  village.  On  one  of 
these  wanderings  Beethoven  gave  me  the  first  striking  proof  of  his  loss 
of  hearing,  concerning  which  Stephan  von  Breuning  had  already  spoken 
to  me.  I  called  his  attention  to  a  shepherd  who  was  piping  very 
agreeably  in  the  woods  on  a  flute  made  of  a  twig  of  elder.  For  half  an 
hour  Beethoven  could  hear  nothing,  and  though  I  assured  him  that  it 
was  the  same  with  me  (which  was  not  the  case),  he  became  extremely 
quiet  and  morose.  When  occasionally  he  seemed  to  be  merry  it  was 
generally  to  the  extreme  of  boisterousness;  but  this  happened  seldom. 

Following  is  the  text  of  the  document: 

For  my  brothers  Carl  and Beethoven. 

O  ye  men  who  think  or  say  that  I  am  malevolent,  stubborn  or 
misanthropic,  how  greatly  do  ye  wrong  me,  you  do  not  know  the  secret 
causes  of  my  seeming,  from  childhood  my  heart  and  mind  were  dis- 
posed to  the  gentle  feeling  of  good  will,  I  was  even  ever  eager  to  accom- 
plish great  deeds,  but  reflect  now  that  for  6  years  I  have  been  in  a  hope- 
less case,  aggravated  by  senseless  physicians,  cheated  year  after  year 
in  the  hope  of  improvement,  finally  compelled  to  face  the  prospect  of 
a  lasting  malady  (whose  cure  will  take  years  or,  perhaps,  be  impossible), 
born  with  an  ardent  and  hvely  temperament,  even  susceptible  to  the 
diversions  of  society,  I  was  compelled  early  to  isolate  myself,  to  live 

some  of  Beethoven's  peculiar  forms  of  spelling  were  corrected — such  as  "Heiglnstadt." 
"That  Beethoven,  throughout  the  document,  never  mentions  the  name  of  his  second 
brother  Johann,  and  indicates  it  only  by  points,  is  surprising  and  singular,  inasmuch 
as  this  brother,  as  we  have  just  seen,  had  come  to  Vienna  only  a  short  time  before  in 
order  to  take  part  in  the  affairs  of  our  Beethoven."  Our  copy  certainly  contains  no 
such  "points."  The  other  mistake,  as  to  the  recent  arrival  of  Johann  in  Vienna,  every 
reader  will  note. 


Text  of  the  Heiligexstadt  "^YILL"  353 

in  loneliness,  when  I  at  times  tried  to  forget  all  this,  O  how  harshly  was 
I  repulsed  by  the  doubly  sad  experience  of  my  bad  hearing,  and  yet  it 
was  impossible  for  me  to  say  to  men  speak  louder,  shout,  for  I  am  deaf. 
Ah  how  could  I  possibly  admit  an  infirmity  in  the  one  sense  which  should 
have  been  more  perfect  in  me  than  in  others,  a  sense  which  I  once  pos- 
sessed in  highest  perfection,  a  perfection  such  as  few  surely  in  my  pro- 
fession enjoy  or  ever  have  enjoyed — O  I  cannot  do  it,  therefore  forgive 
me  when  you  see  me  draw  back  when  I  would  gladly  mingle  with  you, 
my  misfortune  is  doubly  painful  because  it  must  lead  to  my  being  mis- 
understood, for  me  there  can  be  no  recreation  in  society  of  my  fellows, 
refined  intercourse,  mutual  exchange  of  thought,  only  just  as  little  as 
the  greatest  needs  command  may  I  mix  with  society,  I  must  live  like 
an  exile,  if  I  approach  near  to  people  a  hot  terror  seizes  upon  me,  a  fear 
that  I  may  be  subjected  to  the  danger  of  letting  my  condition  be  observed 
— thus  it  has  been  during  the  last  half  year  which  I  spent  'a  the  country, 
commanded  by  my  intelligent  physician  to  spare  my  hearing  as  much 
as  possible,  in  this  almost  meeting  my  present  latural  disposition, 
although  I  sometimes  ran  counter  to  it  yielding  to  my  inclination  for 
society,  but  what  a  humiliation  when  one  stood  beside  me  and  heard 
a  flute  in  the  distance  and  /  heard  nothing  or  someone  heard  the  shepherd 
singing  and  again  I  heard  nothing,  such  incidents  brought  me  to  the 
verge  of  despair,  but  little  more  and  I  would  have  put  an  end  to  my  life 
— only  art  it  was  that  withheld  me,  ah  it  seemed  impossible  to  leave 
the  world  until  I  had  produced  all  that  I  felt  called  upon  to  produce, 
and  so  I  endured  this  wretched  existence^-truly  wretched,  an  e\cital)le 
body  which  a  sudden  change  can  throw  from  the  best  into  the  worst 
state — Patience — it  is  said  I  must  now  choose  for  my  guide,  I  have 
done  so,  I  hope  my  determination  will  remain  firm  to  endure  until  it 
pleases  the  inexorable  parcse  to  break  the  thread,  perhai)s  I  shall  get 
better,  perhaps  not,  I  am  prepared.  Forced  already  in  my  2Hth  year 
to  become  a  philosopher,  O  it  is  not  easy,  less  easy  for  the  artist  than 
for  any  one  else — Divine  One  thou  lookest  into  my  inmost  soul,  thou 
knowest  it,  thou  knowest  that  love  of  man  and  desire  to  do  good  live 
therein.  O  men,  when  some  day  you  read  these  words,  reflect  that  ye 
did  me  wrong  and  let  the  unfortunate  one  comfort  himself  and  find  one 
of  his  kind  v.ho  despite  all  the  obstacles  of  nature  yet  did  all  tiiat  was 
in  his  power  to  be  accepted  among  worthy  artists  and  men.  You  my 
brothers  Carl  and  as  soon  as  I  am  dead  if  Dr.  S<hrnid  is  sfill  alive 

ask  him  in  my  name  to  describe  my  malady  and  attach  this  docuiucnt 
to  the  h'Story  of  my  illness  so  that  so  far  Jis  is  possible  at  least  the  worhl 
may  btcome  reconciled  with  me  after  my  (l«\ith.  At  the  same  time  I 
declare  you  two  to  be  the  heirs  Jo  tny  small  fort  line  fif  so  it  can  be  called), 
divide  it  fairly,  bear  with  and  h<'lp  <'a<h  otlier,  what  injury  you  have 
done  me  you  know  was  long  ago  forgiven.  To  yoii  brother  Carl  I  give 
special  thanks  for  the  attaclim«Tit  you  have  displayed  towards  me  of  laic. 
It  is  my  wish  thaCyour  lives  may  Ix;  better  and  fn-cr  from  care  Ihaii  I 
hav«;  had,  re<omrnend  rirtiie  to  your  children,  it  alone  can  give  happi- 
ness, not  money,  I  speak  from  ex{>crience,  it  was  virtue  that  upheld 
me  in  misery,  to  it  n«'xt  to  my  art  I  owe  the  fact  that  F  di<l  not  end  my 
life  by  suicide — Farewell  and  lov('  eac-h  other  -I  thank  all  niy  friends, 
particularly  Prince  Lichnowsky  and  Professor  Schnid—l  desire  that  the 


354  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

instruments  from  Prince  L.  be  preserved  by  one  of  you  but  let  no  quarrel 
result  from  this,  so  soon  as  they  can  serve  you  a  better  purpose  sell 
them,  how  glad  will  I  be  if  I  can  still  be  helpful  to  you  in  my  grave — 
with  joy  I  hasten  towards  death — if  it  comes  before  I  shall  have  had 
an  opportunity  to  show  all  my  artistic  capacities  it  will  still  come  too 
early  for  me  despite  my  hard  fate  and  I  shall  probably  wish  that  it  had 
come  later — but  even  then  I  am  satisfied,  will  it  not  free  me  from  a  state 
of  endless  suffering?  Come  when  thou  wilt  I  shall  meet  thee  bravely — 
Farewell  and  do  not  wholly  forget  me  when  I  am  dead,  I  deserve  this 
of  you  in  having  often  in  life  thought  of  you  how  to  make  you  happy, 

be  so — 

Ludwig  van  Beethoven. 

(seal) 


Heiglnstadt, 

October  6th, 

1802. 

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Heiglnstadt,  October  10th,  1802,  thus  do  I  take  my 
farewell  of  thee — and  indeed  sadly — yes  that  beloved  hope 
— which  I  brought  with  me  when  I  came  here  to  be  cured 
at  least  in  a  degree — I  must  wholly  abandon,  as  the  leaves 
of  autumn  fall  and  are  withered  so  hope  has  been  blighted, 
almost  as  I  came — I  go  away— -even  the  high  courage — 
which  often  inspired  me  in  the  beautiful  days  of  summer — 
has  disappeared — O  Providence- — grant  me  at  last  but  one 
day  of  pure  joy — it  is  so  long  since  real  joy  echoed  in  my 
heart — O  when — O  when,  O  Divine  One — shall  I  feel  it 
again  in  the  temple  of  nature  and  of  men — Never?  no — O 
that  would  be  too  hard. 


De  profundis  clamavit!  And  yet  in  that  retirement  whence 
came  a  paper  of  such  profound  sadness  was  wrought  out  the 
Symphony  in  D;  a  work  whose  grand  and  imposing  introduction — • 
brilliant  Allegro,  a  Larghetto  "so  lovely,  so  pure  and  amiab'y  con- 
ceived,'* written  in  the  scenes  which  gave  inspiration  to  the  divine 
"Pastorale"  of  which  its  serene  tranquility  seems  the  precursor; 
a  Scherzo  "as  merry,  wayward,  skipping  and  charming  as  anything 
possible,'*  as  even  Oulibichef  admits;  and  a  Finale,  the  very  intoxi- 
cation of  a  spirit  "intoxicated  with  fire" — made  it,  like  the  Quarvets, 
an  era  both  in  the  life  of  its  author  and  in  the  history  of  instru- 
mental music.  In  life,  as  in  music,  the  more  profoundly  the  depths 
of  feeling  are  sounded  in  the  Adagio,  the  more  "merry  to  the  verge 
of  boisterousness"  the  Scherzo  which  follows.     But  who,  reading 


A  Quick  Reversion  to  ^Ierrimext  355 

that  in  October  that  beloved  hope  had  been  abandoned  and  the 
high  courage  which  had  often  inspired  him  in  the  beautiful  days 
of  summer  had  disappeared,  could  anticipate  that  in  November, 
through  the  wonderful  elasticity  of  his  nature,  his  mind  would 
have  so  recovered  its  tone  as  to  leave  no  trace  visible  of  the  so 
recent  depression  and  gloom?  Perhaps  the  mere  act  of  giving 
his  feelings  vent  in  that  extraordinary  promemoria  may  have 
brought  on  the  crisis,  and  from  that  moment  the  reaction  may 
have  begun. 

The  following  letter  to  Zmeskall  (to  which  the  recipient 
appended  the  date,  November,  180'-2)  is  whimsically  written  on 
both  sides  of  a  strip  of  very  ordinary  coarse  writing  paper  fourteen 
and  a  half  inches  long  by  four  and  three-quarters  wide: 

You  may,  my  dear  Z.,  talk  as  plainly  as  you  please  to  Walter  in 
the  affair  of  mine,  first  because  he  deserves  it  and  then  because  since 
the  belief  has  gone  forth  that  I  am  no  longer  on  good  terms  with  Walter 
I  am  pestered  by  the  whole  swarm  of  {)ianoforte  makers  wishing  to  serve 
me — and  gratis,  moreover,  every  one  wants  to  build  a  pianoforte  for  ine 
just  to  my  liking;  thus  Reicha  was  urgently  begged  by  the  man  who 
made  a  pianoforte  for  him  to  persuade  me  to  let  him  make  me  one, 
and  he  is  one  of  the  more  honest  at  whose  place  I  have  seen  good  instru- 
ments— make  him  understand  therefore  that  I  will  pay  him  -SO  florins. 
whereas  I  might  have  one  from  all  the  others  for  nothinj^,  but  I  will 
pay  30  florins  only  on  condition  that  it  be  of  mahogany  and  I  also  want 
the  one  string  {una  corda)  pedal — if  he  does  not  agree  to  this  make  it 
plain  to  him  that  I  shall  choose  one  of  the  others  and  also  introduce 
him  to  Haydn — a  Frenchman,  stranger,  is  coming  to  me  at  about  \i 
o'clock  to-day  volti 

suhito 

Herr  R(eicha)  and  I  will  have  the  j)leasure  of  displaying  my  art  on  a 
piano  by  Jakesch — ad  notam — if  you  want  also  to  come  we  shall  have 
a  good  time  since  afterward  we,  Reicha,  our  iniscraMc  Imperial  H.-iroii 
and  the  Frenchman,  will  dine  togetiicr — you  do  not  need  to  don  a  bluclc 
coat  as  we  shall  be  a  parly  of  men  only. 

Another  letter  to  Zmeskall  (who  noted  tJie  date  November 
13,  180'2,  on  it)  runs  as  follows: 

Dear  Z.-fh've  up  your  7nunic  at  the  Prince's,  uothirKj  rlsr  run  hr  dour. 
We  shall  n'hears(;  at  your  lnmse  to-morrow  mornin^^  early  at  half  past  8 
and  the  |)rodu(ttioii  will  be  at  my  house  at  eleven  — 

cu/^//o  excellent  I'lenipoti-iit  iarius  rr(ini  lirrlhorrnms 
The  rascals  have  been  jailed  as  they  deserved  in  their  own   hand- 
writing.' 

"IV(xluction"  of  what?  'I'ln>  new  (^lintel.  Op.  '2!).  no  doubt. 
"At  my  house" — no  longer  in  iJie  llainberg<T  I  louse  on  the  Bastion, 

'The  reference  is,  of  course,  to  Artarin  and  t'o.  ami  tli>-  Hrrm. 


356  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

but  in  the  one  pointed  out  by  Czerny:  "Beethoven  lived  a  little 
later  (about  ISO-^)  on  the  Petersplatz,  the  corner  house  beside  the 
Guard-house,  vis-d-vis  of  my  present  lodgings,  in  the  fourth  ( ?)  storey, 
where  I  visited  him  as  often  as  I  did  (in  the  Tiefen  Graben).  If  you 
will  give  me  the  pleasure  of  a  visit  (No.  576)  beside  Daum,  second 
storey,  I  will  show  you  the  windows.  There  I  visited  several 
times  every  week."^ 

What  whim  could  have  induced  Beethoven  to  remove  to 
this  house  with  the  bells  of  St.  Peter's  on  one  side  and  those 
of  St.  Stephen's  sounding  down  upon  him  on  the  other,  and  he 
so  suffering  with  his  ears.'^  Perhaps  because  friends  were  in  the 
house.  Forster's  earliest  recollections  of  Beethoven  date  from 
this  winter  and  this  house;  for  his  father's  dwelling  was  in  the 
third  storey  above  him.  He  remembers  that  Beethoven  volun- 
teered to  instruct  him  in  pianoforte  playing,  and  that  he  was 
forced  to  rise  at  six  in  the  morning  and  descend  the  cold  stairs, 
child  as  he  was,  hardly  six  years  of  age,  to  take  his  lessons;  and 
on  one  occasion  going  up  again  crying  because  his  master  had 
whipped  his  little  fingers  with  one  of  the  iron  or  steel  needles 
used  in  knitting  the  coarse  yarn  jackets  worn  by  women  in  service. 

The  composition  of  the  Marches  for  Four  Hands  (Op.  45), 
ordered  by  Count  Browne,  dates  also  from  the  house  in  the 
Petersplatz. 

He  composed  part  of  the  second  inarch  while  giving  me  a  lesson 
on  a  sonata  which  I  had  to  play  in  the  evening  at  the  Count's  house 
at  a  little  concert — a  thing  that  still  seems  incomprehensible  to  me. 
I  was  also  to  play  the  marches  on  the  same  occasion  with  him.  While 
we  were  playing  young  Count  P....  sitting  in  the  doorway  leading  to 
the  next  room  spoke  so  loudly  and  continuously  to  a  pretty  woman, 
that  Beethoven,  after  several  efforts  had  vainly  been  made  to  secure 
quiet,  suddenly  took  my  hands  from  the  keys  in  the  middle  of  the  music, 
jumped  up  and  said  very  loudly,  "I  will  not  play  for  such  swine!"  All 
efforts  to  get  him  to  return  to  the  pianoforte  were  vain,  and  he  would 
not  even  allow  me  to  play  the  sonata.  So  the  music  came  to  an  end 
in  the  midst  of  much  ill  humor. 

In  composing  Beethoven  tested  his  pieces  at  the  pianoforte  until 
he  found  them  to  his  liking,  and  sang  the  while.  His  voice  in  singing 
was  hideous.  It  was  thus  that  Czerny  heard  him  at  work  on  the  four- 
hand  Marches  while  waiting  in  a  side  room. 

According  to  Jahn's  papers  this  statement  came  also  from 
Czerny. 

It  is  now  necessary  to  turn  back  to  November  and  again 
undertake  the  annoying  and  thankless  task  of  examining  a  broad 

iLetter  to  Ferdinand  Luib,  May  28,  1852. 


Beethoven  and  His  Brothers  357 

tissue  of  mingled  fact  and  misrepresentation  and  severing  the 
truth  from  the  error;  this  time  the  subject  is  the  relations  which 
existed  between  Beethoven  and  his  brothers  in  these  years.  A 
letter  written  by  Kaspar  is  the  occasion  of  taking  it  up  here. 
Johann  Andre,  a  music  publisher  at  Offenbach-on-the-Main, 
following  the  example  of  Hoffmeister,  Nageli,  Breitkopf  and  Hiirtel 
and  others,  now  applied  to  Beethoven  for  manuscripts.  Kaspar 
wrote  the  reply  under  date  November  23,  ISO^: 

.  .  .  .At  present  we  have  nothing  but  a  Symphony,  a  grand  Concerto  for 
Pianoforte,  the  first  at  300  florins  and  the  second  at  the  same  price,  if 
you  should  want  three  pianoforte  sonatas  I  could  furnish  them  for  no 
less  than  900  florins,  all  according  to  Vienna  standard,  and  these  you  could 
not  have  all  at  once,  but  one  every  five  or  six  weeks,  because  my  brother 
does  not  trouble  himself  with  such  trifles  any  longer  and  composes 
only  oratorios,  operas,  etc. 

Also  you  are  to  send  us  eight  copies  of  every  piece  which  you  may 
possibly  engrave.  WTiether  the  pieces  please  you  or  not  I  beg  you  to 
answer,  otherwise  I  might  be  prevented  from  selling  them  to  someone  else. 

We  have  also  two  Adagios  for  the  Violin  with  complete  instrumental 
accompaniment,  which  will  cost  135  florins,  and  two  little  easy  Sonatas, 
each  with  two  movements,  which  are  at  your  service  for  "^SO  florins.  In 
addition  I  beg  you  to  present  our  compliments  to  our  friend  Koch. 

Your  obedient, 

K.  v.  Beethoven. 

R.I.  Treasury  oflBcial. 

This  ludicrous  display  of  the  young  man's  self-importance  as 
"Royal  Imperial  Treasury  Officiar'  and  Ludwig  van  Beethoven's 
factotum  is  certainly  very  absurd;  but  hardly  affords  adccpiate 
grounds  for  the  exceeding  scorn  of  Schindler's  remarks  upon  it. 
It  is  in  itself  suflSciently  provocative  of  prejudice  against  its  writer. 
But  a  display  of  vanity  and  self-esteem  is  ridiculous,  not  crimirud. 

The  general  charge  brought  by  Ries  against  Kaspar  and 
Johann  van  Beethoven  is  tliis: 

His  brothers  sought  In  i);irliriil;ir  to  keep  all  his  irilini.ilf  fiirtids 
away  from  him,  and  wo  mutter  what  wrongs  tlu'V  did  him.  ol'  wlii(  li  he 
was  convinced,  they  cost  him  only  a  few  tears  and  all  was  immediately 
forgotten.  On  such  occasions  he  was  in  tlu*  habit  of  saying:  "But  they 
are  my  brothers,  nevertheless,"  and  the  fri<'nd  reeciv<'d  Ji  rehiike  for 
his  good-nature  and  frankness.  The  brothers  attained  their  purpose 
in  causing  the  withdrawal  from  him  of  many  friends,  especially  when, 
because  of  his  hard  hearing,  it  became  more  dilfieult  to  converse  with  him. 

Two  years  after  the  "Xotizen"  left  the  press  Schindler  pub- 
lished his  "Hiograpliy."  In  it,  although  lie  first  knew  Beethoven 
in   1814,  Johann  some  years  later  and  Kaspar  i)robal)ly    never. 


358  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

and  therefore  personally  could  know  nothing  of  the  facts  of  this 
period,  yet  he  made  the  picture  still  darker.  The  special  charge 
against  Kaspar  is  that  "about  this  time  (in  1800)  he  began  to  rule 
Beethoven  and  made  him  suspicious  of  his  most  sincere  friends 
and  devotees  by  means  of  false  representations  and  even  jealousy." 

There  is  a  class  of  writers  in  Germany,  whom  no  regard  for 
the  feelings  of  the  living,  no  veneration  for  the  memories  of  the 
great  dead,  no  scruples  on  the  score  of  truth,  and  even,  in  some 
cases,  not  respect  and  admiration  for  the  greatest  living  genius, 
talent,  and  literary  or  scientific  fame,  restrain  from  using,  or 
moderate  their  use  of,  whatever  can  add  piquancy  to  their  appeals 
to  the  prurient  imaginations  of  certain  classes  of  readers.  Delicacy 
of  feeling  and  nicety  of  conscience  are  not  to  be  expected  of  such 
heartless  traducers  of  the  living  and  the  dead;  but  that  even  the 
most  contemptible  of  the  tribe,  regardless  of  the  pain  which  such 
a  slander  of  her  husband's  father  must  have  caused  to  a  widowed 
mother  and  her  amiable  children,  could  venture  to  represent 
Karl  Kaspar  van  Beethoven  as  the  seller  of  his  wife's  virtue  and 
a  sharer  in  the  wages  of  her  shame,  is  as  inconceivable,  as  that 
his  book  should  be  received  with  praise  by  critics  and  applause 
by  the  public;  that  it  should  gain  its  author  pecuniary  profit 
instead  of  a  prison.  The  story  is  utterly  without  foundation;  a 
pure  invention  and  a  falsehood,  and  is  told,  moreover,  of  poor 
Kaspar,  at  a  time  when  as  yet  he  had  no  wife!  Unfortunately, 
this  treatment  of  Beethoven's  brothers  is  not  confined  to  writers 
of  novels  and  feuilletonists.  They,  who  profess  to  write  history, 
no  sooner  strike  upon  this  topic,  than  fancy  seems  to  usurp  the 
seat  of  reason  and  imagination  to  take  the  place  of  judgment. 
The  lines  of  Ries  expand  into  paragraphs;  the  sentences  of 
Schindler  into  chapters.  But  the  picture,  thus  overdrawn  and 
exaggerated,  in  some  degree  corrects  itself;  for  if  the  brothers 
were  really  as  represented,  what  is  to  be  thought  of  Beethoven 
if  he  in  fact  was  so  led,  controlled  and  held  in  subjection  by  them 
as  described? 

Now,  what  is  really  known  of  Karl  Kaspar  and  Johann, 
though  it  sufficiently  confutes  much  of  the  calumnious  nonsense 
which  has  been  printed  about  them,  is  not  fitted  to  convey  any 
very  exalted  idea  of  their  characters.  The  same  Frau  Karth, 
who  remembered  Ludwig  in  his  youth  as  always  "gentle  and 
lovable,"  related  that  Kaspar  was  less  kindly  in  his  disposition, 
"proud  and  presumptuous,"  and  that  Johann  "was  a  bit  stupid, 
yet  very  good-natured."  And  such  they  were  in  manhood.  Kaspar, 
like  Ludwig,  was  very  passionate,  but  more  violent  in  his  sudden 


Characters  of  Karl  Kaspar  and  Johann        359 

wrath;  Johann,  slow  to  wrath  and  placable.  Notwithstanding  the 
poverty  of  his  youth  and  early  manhood,  it  is  not  known  that 
Kaspar  was  avaricious;  but  Johann  had  felt  too  bitterly  the  misery 
of  want  and  dependence,  and  became  penurious.  After  he  had 
accumulated  a  moderate  fortune,  the  contests  between  his  avarice 
and  the  desire  to  display  his  wealth  led  to  very  ludicrous  exhibitions. 
In  a  word,  Beethoven  was  not  a  phenomenon  of  goodness,  nor  were 
his  brothers  monsters  of  iniquity.  That  both  Ries  and  Schindler 
wrote  honestly  has  not  been  doubted;  but  common  justice 
demands  the  reminder  that  they  wrote  under  tlie  bias  of 
strong  personal  dislike  to  one  or  both  brothers.  Ries  wrote  im- 
pressions received  at  a  very  early  time  of  life,  and  records  opinions 
formed  upon  incomplete  data.  Schindler  wrote  entirely  upon 
hearsay.  Ries  had  not  completed  his  twenty-first  year  when  he 
departed  from  Vienna  (1805).  Howsoever  strong  were  Beethoven's 
gratitude  to  Franz  Ries  and  affection  for  Ferdinand,  fourteen 
years  was  too  great  a  disparity  in  age  to  allow  tliat  trustful  and 
familiar  intercourse  between  master  and  pupil  which  could  eiuible 
the  latter  to  speak  with  full  knowledge;  nor  does  a  man  of 
Beethoven's  age  and  position  turn  from  old  and  valued  friends, 
like  the  Lichnowskys,  Breuning,  Zmeskall  and  others  of  whatever 
names,  to  make  a  youth  of  from  18  to  20  years,  a  new-comer  and 
previously  a  stranger,  even  though  a  favorite  pupil,  his  confidential 
adviser.  Facts  confirm  the  proi)osition  in  this  case.  We  know 
that  Beethoven  in  1801  imparted  grave  matters  to  Wcgclcr  aud 
Amenda,  of  whicli  Ries  a  year  later  had  only  received  iuliinatiou 
from  Breuning;  and  other  circumstances  of  whicli  lie  knew  notJiiiig 
are  recorded  in  tlie  testament  of  18()'2.  The  cJiargcs  against 
the  brotliers,  botli  of  Ries  and  Schindler,  are  general  in  terms; 
Ries  only  giving  specifications  or  instances  in  ])r()()f.  Schindler 
may  be  passed  by  as  but  repeating  the  "Noti/en."  Now.  the 
onus  of  Ries's  charges  is  this: 

P'irst :  tliat  Kaspar  tJinist  iiimsclf  im})crt  iiicnily  into  liis 
brother's  business;  second:  tJiat  both  brothers  intrigued  to  isolate 
Be<'thoven  from  his  intimate  friends  and  tJiat  liuir  niacliinal  ions 
were  in  many  cases  successful. 

To  the  first  point  it  is  to  be  remarked:  Besides  I^'clhoven's 
often  expressed  disinclination  to  <'ngage  iiersonaiiy  in  in-got iaf ions 
for  the  sale  of  Jiis  works  although  wln-n  he  did  he  showed  no 
lack  of  a  kren  eve  to  profits  Jiis  ])hysical  and  mental  condition 
at  tliis  jx-riod  of  U'L-i  life  often  rendered  tJie  assistance  of  an  agent 
indispensable.  Accounts  were  to  be  k<'i)t  with  half  a  do/en  pub- 
lishers; letters  received  upon  business  were  numerous  and  often 


360  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

demanded  prompt  replies;  proof-sheets  were  constantly  arriving 
for  revision  and  correction;  copyists  required  supervision;  an 
abundance  of  minor  matters  continually  coming  up  and  needing 
attention  when  Beethoven  might  be  on  his  long  rambles  over 
hill  and  dale,  the  last  man  to  be  found  in  an  emergency.  One 
asks  with  astonishment,  how  could  so  obvious  a  necessity  for  a 
confidential  agent  have  escaped  notice?  Who  should  or  could 
this  agent  be  but  his  brother  Kaspar?^  He  held  an  honor- 
able place  in  a  public  office,  the  duties  of  which  necessarily  implied 
the  possession  of  those  talents  for,  and  habits  of,  prompt  and 
skillful  performance  of  business  which  his  early  receipt  of  salary 
and  his  regular  advancement  in  position  show  that  he  really  did 
possess;  his  duties  detained  him  in  the  city  at  all  times,  occasional 
short  vacations  excepted,  and  yet  left  him  ample  leisure  to  attend 
to  his  brother's  affairs;  he  was  a  musician  by  education  and  fully 
competent  to  render  valuable  service  in  that  "fearful  period  of 
arrangements" — as  it  is  well  known  he  did.  What  would  have 
justly  been  said  of  Beethoven  if  he  had  passed  by  one  so  eminently 
qualified  for  the  task — one  on  whom  the  paternal  relation  and 
his  own  long  continued  care  and  protection  had  given  him  so 
many  claims — and  had  transferred  the  burden  from  his  own 
shoulders  to  those  of  other  friends.^  But  if,  after  adequate  trial, 
the  agent  proved  unsatisfactory,  the  case  would  be  changed  and 
the  principal  might  with  propriety  seek  needed  assistance  in  other 
quarters.  And  precisely  this  appears  to  have  occurred;  for  after 
a  few  years  Kaspar  disappears  almost  entirely  from  our  history 
in  connection  with  his  brother's  pecuniary  affairs.  This  fact  is 
stronger  evidence  than  anything  in  Ries's  statements,  that  Beet- 
hoven became  dissatisfied  with  his  brother's  management,  and 
would  have  still  more  weight  had  he  been  less  fickle,  inconstant 
and  undecided  in  matters  of  business. ^ 

'Under  date  April  22,  1802,  Beethoven  writes  to  Breitkopf  and  Hartel:  "I  reserve 
the  privilege  of  soon  writing  to  you  highborn  gentlemen  myself — many  business  matters, 
and  also  many  vexations — render  me  utterly  useless  for  some  things  for  a  time — 
meanwhile  you  may  trust  implicitly  in  my  brother — who,  in  fad,  manages  all  my  affairs." 

^Hugo  Riemann,  the  editor  of  Volumes  II  and  III  of  the  second  edition  of  this 
"Life,"  was  not  disposed  to  permit  the  author's  defence  of  Beethoven's  brothers  to 
stand  unchallenged,  as  Dr.  Deiters  had  done  in  the  first  edition.  Dr.  Riemann  calls 
attention  to  a  letter  sent  by  Beethoven  to  Johann  after  the  latter  had  removed  to 
Linz — the  date  as  written  by  Beethoven  is  "March  28,  1089" — another  instance  of 
Beethoven's  careless  treatment  of  such  matters.  Of  course  the  year  was  1809.  In 
the  letter  the  composer  says:  "God  grant  to  you  and  the  other  brother  instead  of  his 
unfeelingness,  feeling — /  suffer  infinitely  through  him,  with  my  bad  hearing  I  always 
need  somebody,  and  whom  shall  I  trust.*"  This  Dr.  Riemann  inserts  in  the  body  of 
the  text.  In  a  foot-note  he  calls  attention  to  a  letter  found  among  Thayer's  posthumous 
papers  to  the  author  from  Gerhard  von  Breuning  in  which  occur  the  words:  "Caspar 
held  a  respected  position  in  the  public  service.     But  how  did  it  come  that  Rosgea 


Karl  Kaspar  as  a  Business  Manager  361 

Sej^ried,  whose  acquaintance  with  Beethoven  ripened  just  at 
this  time  into  intimacy,  and  who  in  180-2-'05  had  the  best  possible 
opportunities  for  observation,  beheld  the  relations  between  the 
brothers  with  far  less  jaundiced  eyes  than  Ries.     He  says: 

Beethoven  was  the  more  glad  to  choose  joyous  Vienna  for  his 
future  and  permanent  home  since  two  j-ounger  brothers  had  followed 
him  thither,  who  took  off  his  shoulders  the  oppressive  load  of  financial 
cares  and  who  were  compelled  to  act  almost  as  guardians  for  the  priest 
of  art  to  whom  the  ordinary  affairs  of  civil  life  were  as  strange  as  strange 
could  be. 

At  that  time  Seyfried,  like  Ries,  was  ignorant  of  tlie  circum- 
stances detailed  to  Wegeler  and  Amenda  and  in  the  testament; 
but  the  admirable  selection  of  words  in  the  closing  phrase  will 
strike  all  who  have  had  occasion  to  read  Beethoven's  countless 
notes  asking  advice  or  aid  in  matters  which  most  men  would 
deem  too  trivial  for  even  a  passing  word  in  conversation.  The 
specifications  of  Ries  in  his  charges  against  Kaspar  will  not 
long  detain  us.  The  story  of  the  quarrel  over  the  disj)osition 
of  the  Nageli  Sonatas  may  stand  in  all  its  ugliness  and  with  no 
comment  save  the  suggestion  of  the  possibility  that  Kaspar's 
word  as  Ludwig's  agent  may  have  been  pledged  to  the  Leipsic 
publisher.  The  one  really  specific  charge  of  Ries  is  tlie  one  on 
page  124  of  the  "Notizen": 

All  trifles,  and  many  things  which  he  did  not  want  to  publish  be- 
cause he  thought  them  unworthy  of  his  name,  were  secretly  given  to 
publicity  by  his  brother.  Thus  songs  which  he  had  composed  years 
before  his  departure  for  Vienna,  l)ccame  known  only  after  he  had 
reached  a  high  degree  of  fame.  Thus,  too,  little  compositions  which 
he  had  written  in  autograph  albums  were  filched  and  published. 

By  "trifles"  Ries,  of  course,  lu-re  refers  to  the  "Bagatelles, 
Op.  33,  par  Louis  van  Beethoven,  1782,"  as  the  mauiis(ri|)t  is 
superscribed,  published  in  the  spring  of  180.3.  The  manuscrii)t 
itself  proves  Ries  to  be  in   error.     TJie   words  "par   Louis   van 

warrifd  my  fatlicr  to  warn  I.iidwij^  not  to  trust  Casfinr  too  miK  li  in  rrs|)ril  of  inoncy 
mattfTM  Ix'fuijscr  In-  had  a  loid  npulation;  and  tlii-ii,  hiidwij;  haviiij;  told  (  a>|)urtliat 
he  had  received  the  warning;  from  StifFcn,  <  aspar  dniiandid  from  my  fat  h<r  to  know 
from  whom  he  liad  re(<ivr<l  the  warriin>{;  ami  wlun  my  falh<r  nfiisnl  Imoiiihi'  he 
had  prf)mised  Ros^en  on  his  word  of  hrmor  not  to  twtray  him.  Caspar  nid<  ly  pres.ned 
my  father,  piil>li<|y  dclivere<l  h-ttcru  efujtainiiiK  nhiise  and  threats  to  the  jxirter  of  the 
Court  Coiuifil  of  War,  cte..  and— that  my  father,  eallinx  Lmlwin  a  Kossip.  waft  Iohk 
estranpecl  from  him  until  the  IcttrT  of  reeorir-iliati<m  «-amf  (in  IHOt)."'  ItrcuninK'* 
utteranecs  in  his  Iniok  "Aus  ch-m  Schwarzspanifrhausc"  arc  of  Nimiiar  import .  There 
are  evitlenees  ttiaf  Hr<-iinin>{  was  eonvin'-i-d  that  ('ari'.s  eharacd-r  was  had.  Imt  is  more 
lenient  in  his  jndjfment  of  Joliann,  whom  he  vUnruvH  cmly  with  grrvtl  and  miscrliiienH. 
Of  conrse,  all  this  material  was  in  the  hands  of  Thayer,  who  must  have  weighed  it  in 
making  up  his  defence  of  the  hrothcrs. 


36*2  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

Beethoven"  are  in  a  hand  unlike  anything  known  to  the  present 
writer  from  Beethoven's  pen.  This  fact,  together  with  a  something 
not  easily  described  in  the  appearance  of  the  notes,  suggests  the  idea 
that  this  copy  of  the  "Bagatelles"  was  made  by  Kaspar,  and  com- 
piled, except  No.  6  and  perhaps  one  other,  from  the  compositions  of 
Beethoven  in  his  boyhood.  But  the  corrections — the  words  Andante 
graciosOf  Scherzo  Allegro,  Allegretto  con  una  certa  espressione  parlanie, 
etc.,  written  with  lead  pencil  or  a  different  ink,  are  certainly  from 
Beethoven's  own  hand;  also,  in  still  another  ink,  the  thoroughly 
Beethovenish  "Op.  33."  No  one  can  mistake  that.  This  work 
most  assuredly  was  never  "secretly  given  to  the  public."^ 

The  only  Album  composition  known  to  have  been  published 
in  those  years  is  the  song  with  variations,  "Ich  denke  dein"; 
and  this  Beethoven  himself  had  offered  to  Hoffmeister  before  it 
was  printed  by  the  Kunst-  und  Industrie-Comptoir. 

The  "songs"  referred  to  by  Ries  can  only  be  those  of  Op.  52. 
The  original  manuscript,  having  disappeared,  neither  refutes  nor 
confirms  his  opinion.  It  is,  however,  exceedingly  doubtful  that 
Beethoven's  brothers  would  have  dared  give  an  opus  number 
to  a  stolen  publication.  A  priori  Ries  is  more  likely  to  be  in 
error  here  than  in  regard  to  the  "Bagatelles."  Now,  the  only 
contemporary  criticism  upon  the  latter  which  has  been  discovered, 
is  a  single  line  in  Moll's  "Annalen  der  Literatur"  (Vienna,  1804): 
"Deserve  the  title  in  every  sense  of  the  word.'*  Upon  the  "Song 
with  Variations"  no  notice  whatever  has  been  found.  But,  Opus 
52  was  received  by  the  "Allgemeine  Musik-Zeitung"  of  August 
28,  1805,  in  this  style;  Opera  47  and  38  having  been  duly  praised, 
the  writer  continues: 

Is  it  possible  that  No.  3  of  these  eight  songs  is  from  the  pen  of  this 
composer,  admirable  even  in  his  vagaries?  It  must  be,  since  it  is.  At 
least  his  name  is  printed  large  on  the  title-page,  the  publisher  is  mentioned, 
the  songs  were  published  in  Vienna  where  the  composer  lives,  and,  in- 
deed, bear  his  latest  opus  number.  Comprehend  it  he  who  can — that 
a  thing  in  all  respects  so  commonplace,  poor,  weak  and  in  great  part 
ludicrous  should  not  only  emanate  from  such  a  man  but  even  be  published. 

And  more  like  this,  illustrated  by  copying  "Das  BlUmchen 
Wunderhold."     These  citations  suggest  an  obvious  explanation  of 

'Dr.  Friramel  is  of  the  opinion  that  in  this  criticism  Thayer  was  hasty  and  pre- 
mature. In  reproducing  two  facsimiles  of  portions  of  the  Bagatelle  in  question  ("Beet- 
hoven Jahrbuch"  II,  1909)  he  says:  "The  apparent  contradictions  disclosed  by  these 
manuscripts  led  Thayer  to  question  the  authenticity  of  the  autograph.  It  may  safely 
be  said  that  a  later  consideration  of  the  matter  would  have  led  Thayer  to  change  his 
mind;  he  would  also  surely  have  corrected  his  statement  that  Ries  had  reference  to 
the  Bagatelles  Op.  33  in  his  'N'  (p.  124).  Nottebohm  knew  the  manuscript,  which 
was  once  in  the  possession  of  Johann  Kafka,  well  and  never  expressed  a  doubt  as  to 
its  genuineness." 


Karl  Raspar  a  Probable  Scapegoat  363 

Ries's  mistake,  namely:  Beethoven,  mortified,  ashamed,  angry,  pur- 
posely left  him  to  believe  that  he  was  innocent  of  the  publication 
of  these  compositions.  It  was  one  of  the  advantages  of  having 
Kaspar  in  Vienna,  that  the  responsibility  of  such  false  steps 
could  be  shifted  upon  him.  Those  who  are  predetermined  not 
to  admit  in  Beethoven's  character  any  of  the  faults,  frailties  and 
shortcomings  of  our  common  human  nature,  will  of  course  censure 
this  explanation.  Let  them  propose  a  better.^  Finally:  In  the 
paragraph  upon  the  efforts  of  Beethoven's  brothers  to  keep  all 
of  the  composer's  friends  away  from  him  it  is  easy  to  read  between 
the  lines  that  it  was  Ries  himself  who  oft  "was  rebuked  for  his 
good-nature  and  frankness,"  which  of  itself  to  some  extent  lessens 
the  force  of  the  charge.  But  it  is  best  met  by  the  first  half  of 
the  Will,  or  testament,  which,  with  the  confessions  to  Wegeler 
and  Amenda,  as  above  said,  open  to  our  knowledge  an  inner  life 
of  the  writer  studiously  concealed  from  his  protege. 

In  this  solemn  document,  written  as  he  supposed  uj)on  the 
brink  of  the  grave,  Beethoven  touches  upon  this  very  question. 
We  learn  from  his  own  affecting  words,  that  the  cause  of  his 
separation  from  friends  lay,  7iot  in  the  machinations  of  his  brothers, 
but  in  his  own  sensitiveness.  He  records  for  future  use,  what  he 
cannot  now  explain  without  disclosing  his  jealously  guarded 
secret.  That  record  now  serves  a  double  purpose;  it  relieves 
Kaspar  and  Johann  from  a  portion  of  the  odium  so  long  cast 
upon  their  memories;  and  proves  Ries  to  be,  in  ])art  at  least,  in 
error,  without  impugning  his  veracity.  It  is  very  probable  Hies 
never  saw  the  will.  Had  he  known  and  carefully  read  it,  the 
prejudices  of  his  youth  must  have  been  weakened,  the  opinions 
founded  upon  partial  knowledge  modified.  lie  was  of  too  noble 
a  nature  not  to  have  gladly  seen  the  memories  of  the  d(>ad  vindi- 
cated— not  to  have  been  struck  with  nu<\  alF<'(ted  by  the  words 
of  his  deceased  master:  "To  you,  l)r()tli<T  Carl,  I  give  sjx'cial 
thanks  for  the  attachment  you  have  disj)layed   towards  me  of 

late." 

•  * 

Pass  we  to  another  topic. 

On  frequent  orcasions  (says  Rios),  ho  showed  a  truly  paternal 
interest  in  me.  From  this  sourer  there  s|)rari^' the  writ  ten  order  (in  lH()>i), 
wl)ieh  he  sent  rue  in  a  fit  of  an^,'er  because  of  an  un[)lrasiint  predicament 
into    which    (Jar!    van    licelhovcn    had    gotten    me.      lleethoven    wrote: 

•Diffcrrnrfi  t)rtwp<-n  tho  statrmfnti  made  here  and  ■omr  of  Ihnnf  in  (.'hftpl'-r  \  I 
are  explained  by  the  nuthor's  lftt<'r  investigation."!. 


364  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

"You  do  not  need  to  come  to  Heiligenstadt;  I  have  no  time  to  lose." 
At  the  time  Count  Browne  was  indulging  himself  with  pleasures  in 
which  I  was  taking  part,  he  being  kindly  disposed  towards  me,  and  was 
in  consequence  neglecting  my  lessons. 

That  Beethoven,  during  the  summer  when  his  vocations  were 
interrupted  by  the  dark  hours  in  which  the  "will"  was  produced, 
could  have  no  time  to  lose  in  those  lighter  days  when  the  spirit 
of  labor  was  upon  him  is  clear  from  the  surprising  list  of  compo- 
sitions written  and  published  in  this  year. 

The  works  which  were  developed  were  the  three  Violin 
Sonatas,  Op.  30;  the  first  two  of  the  three  Pianoforte  Sonatas,  Op. 
31;  the  two  sets  of  Variations,  Op.  34  and  35;  the  "Bagatelles," 
Op.  33,  and  (the  chief  work  of  the  year)  the  second  Symphony, 
D  major.  Op.  36.  The  works  which  came  from  the  press  were  the 
Pianoforte  Sonatas,  Op.  22,  26  and  27,  Nos.  1  and  2;  the  Serenade, 
Op.  25;  the  Septet,  Op.  20;  the  Quintet,  Op.  29;  the  Rondo  in  G, 
Op.  51,  No.  2;  the  transcription  for  strings  of  the  Pianoforte 
Sonata  in  E,  Op.  14,  No.  1;  the  Variations  for  Violoncello  and 
Pianoforte  on  "Bei  Mannern  welche  Liebe  fiihlen,"  dedicated  to 
Count  Browne;  the  six  Contradances  and  six  Rustic  ("Land- 
rische")  Dances.  There  were  thirteen  performances  of  the  ballet 
"Prometheus."  Moreover,  it  is  at  least  remotely  possible  that 
the  two  large  works  which  were  played  together  with  the  Sympho- 
nies in  C  and  D  at  Beethoven's  concert  on  April  5,  1803 — viz.:  the 
Pianoforte  Concerto  in  C  minor.  Op.  37  and  the  Oratorio  "Christus 
am  Olberg,"  Op.  85 — were  not  so  far  advanced  in  all  their  parts 
that  they,  too,  may  have  occupied  the  attention  of  Beethoven  in 
the  winter  of  1802-03. 

For  nearly  all  the  works  completed  in  1802,  studies  are  to  be 
found  in  the  sketchbook  described  in  full  by  Nottebohm,^  which 
covers  the  period  from  the  fall  of  1801  to  the  spring  of  1802; 
like  the  majority  of  the  sketchbooks,  it  contains  themes  and  studies 
which  were  never  worked  out.  "Overlooking  the  sketches  which 
cross  each  other,"  says  Nottebohm,  "and  putting  aside  all  that  is 
immaterial,  the  compositions  represented  in  the  book  which  were 
completed  and  are  known,  may  be  set  down  chronologically  as 
follows : 

"Opferlied,"  by  Mathisson,  first  form. 

Scene  and  Aria  for  Soprano :  "No — non  turbarti." 

Three  of  the  Contradances. 

Bagatelle  for  Pianoforte,  No.  6  of  Op.  33. 

Last  movement  of  the  Symphony  in  D  major. 

'"Ein  Skizzenbuch  von  Beethoven,"  Breitkopf  und  Hartel,  Leipsic,  1865. 


Compositions  Completed  in  1802  365 

Five  of  the  six  "Landrische  Tanze." 

Terzetto,  "Tremate,  empj,  tremate,"  Op.  116, 

First  and  second   movements  of  the  Sonata  for  Pianoforte  and 

VioHn  in  A  major,  Op.  30,  No.  1. 
Last  movement  of  the  Sonata  for  Pianoforte  and  VioHn  in  A  major. 

Op.  47. 
Sonata  for  Pianoforte  and  VioHn  in  C  minor.  Op.  30,  No.  2. 
BagateHe  for  Pianoforte,  No.  5  of  Op.  1 19  ( 1 12) . 
First  movement  of  the  Sonata  for  Pianoforte  in  D  minor,  Op.  31, 

No.  2  (the  first  sketch  only). 
Sonata  for  Pianoforte  and  VioHn  in  G  major.  Op.  30,  No.  3. 
Last  movement  of  the  Sonata  for  Pianoforte  and  VioHn  in  A  major. 

Op.  30,  No.  1  (the  theme  had  been  designed  before). 
Variations  for  Pianoforte  in  E-flat  major,  Op.  35  (j)reparatory  work). 
Variations  for  Pianoforte  in  F  major,  Op.  34  (only  the  first  hints). 
Sonata  for  Pianoforte  in  G  major.  Op.  31,  No.  1  (not  complete). 

To  which  may  be  added  as  occurring  earlj^  in  the  book,  tlie 
theme  of  the  Larghetto  of  the  Symphony  in  D  (here  for  horns), 
out  of  which  eventually  grew  the  Trio  in  the  Scherzo.  A  curious 
remark  on  one  of  the  pages  seems  to  be  a  memorandum  for  a 
piece  of  descriptive  music:  "Marital  felicity,  dark  clouds  uj)on  the 
brow  of  tlie  husband  in  whicli  the  fairer  ludf  unites  but  still  seeks 
to  dispel." 

The  evident  care  taken  by  the  composer  at  tliis  period  to 
make  tlie  opus  numbers  really  correspond  to  the  chronological 
order  of  his  works,  is  a  strong  rea.son  for  concluding  tliat  the 
Violin  Sonatas,  Op.  30,  were  completed  or  nearly  so  before  lie 
removed  to  Heiligenstadt.  Even  in  tluit  case,  what  wonderful 
genius  and  capacity  for  labor  does  it  .sliow,  that,  before  the  close 
of  tlie  year,  in  spite  of  ill  jieuitli  and  ])eri()ds  of  tJie  (leej)esL  desj)oiid- 
ency,  and  of  all  tlie  interruptions  caused  by  liis  ordinary  vocations 
after  his  return  to  town,  he  liad  completed  the  first  two  Sonatas  of 
Op.  31,  the  two  extensive  and  novel  sets  of  \'ariations.  Op.  .'U  .iiui 
Op.  3.5,  and  the  noble  Second  Symphony! — all  of  them  wilnes.scs 
that  he  had  really  "entered  upon  a  new  j)ath,"  ncilJicr  of 
them  more  so  than  tlie  Syiiipliony  so  amazingly  superior  to  its 
predcfcssor  in  grandeur  and  originality.  'J1iis  was,  in  fact,  the 
grand  labor  of  this  summer. 

The  tlin-e  Sonatas  for  l^ianoforte  and  Violin  ;ire  dedicated 
to  Czar  Alexander  I  ol  Russia,  who  is  said  to  have  given 
command  tliat  a  valuable  diamond  ring  be  sent  to  lln'  eotnposer. 
Lenz  could  find  no  record  of  sucJi  an  incident  in  the  inijx'rial 
archives.  Tin;  sketches  show  tli;if  the  movement  which  now 
concludes  the  "Krcutzer"  Sonata  (Op.  47)  was  originally  designed 
for  the  first  of  tlie  three,  tlie  one  in  A  major;  and  tJiat  for  the 


366  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

Adagio  of  the  second,  in  C  minor,  Beethoven,  assuming  that  he 
already  associated  the  theme  with  the  work,  first  contemplated 
using  the  key  of  G. 

The  three  Sonatas  for  Pianoforte,  Op.  31,  are  without  dedica- 
tion. W.  Nagel  connects  them,  or  one  of  them,  with  the  following 
extraordinary  letter  to  Hoffmeister: 

Vienna,  April  8,  1802. 

Are  you  all  ridden  by  the  devil  gentlemen  that  you  propose  such 
a  sonata  to  me? 

At  the  time  of  the  revolutionary  fever — well — such  a  thing  might 
have  been  very  well;  but  now — when  everything  is  trying  to  get  back 
into  the  old  rut,  Buonaparte  has  signed  the  concordat  with  the  Pope — 
such  a  sonata? 

If  it  were  a  Missa  pro  sancta  Maria  a  ire  voci,  or  a  Vesper,  etc. — 
I  would  take  my  brush  in  hand  at  once — and  write  down  a  Credo  in  unum 
Deum  in  big  pound  notes — but  good  God,  such  a  sonata — for  these  days 
of  newly  dawning  Christianity — hoho! — leave  me  out  of  it,  nothing  will 
come  of  it. 

Now  my  answer  in  quickest  tempo — the  lady  can  have  a  sonata 
from  me,  and  I  will  follow  her  plan  in  respect  of  aesthetics  in  a  general 
way — and  without  following  the  keys — price  5  ducats — for  which  she  may 
keep  it  for  her  own  enjoyment  for  a  year,  neither  I  nor  she  to  publish  it. 

At  the  expiration  of  the  year — the  sonata  will  be  mine  to — i.  e., 
I  shall  publish  it,  and  she  shall  have  the  privilege — if  she  thinks  it  will 
be  an  honor — to  ask  me  to  dedicate  it  to  her.  .  .  . 

Now  God  keep  you  gentlemen. 

My  Sonata  is  beautifully  printed  [gestochen,  i.  e.,  engraved] — but 
it  took  you  a  pretty  time — send  my  Septet  into  the  world  a  little  quicker 
— for  the  crowd  is  waiting  for  it — and  you  know  the  Empress  has  it  and 
there  are  (scamps)  in  the  imperial  city  as  well  as  the  (imperial  court) 
I  can  vouch  for  nothing — therefore  make  haste. 

Herr  (Mollo)  has  again  recently  published  my  Quartets  but  full 
of  faults  and  Errata — in  large  as  well  as  small  form,  they  swarm  in  them 
like  fish  in  the  sea,  there  is  no  end  of  them — questo  e  un  piacere  per  un  aiitore 
— that's  pricking  music  with  a  vengeance,  in  truth  my  skin  is  full  of 
prickings  and  rips  because  of  this  beautiful  edition  of  my  Quartets.  .   .  . 

Now  farewell  and  remember  me  as  I  do  you.  Till  death  your 
faithful 

L.  V.  Beethoven. 

An  engagement  which  Beethoven  had  obtained  from  Count 
Browne  for  Ries  was  one  that  gave  him  leisure  to  pursue  his 
studies,  and  he  often  came  to  Vienna  and  Heiligenstadt  for  that 
purpose.  Thus  it  happens  that  the  "Notizen"  also  contribute 
to  the  history  of  these  Sonatas.     Ries  writes: 

Beethoven  had  promised  the  three  solo  sonatas  (Op.  31)  to  Nageli 
in  Zurich  while  his  brother  Carl  (Caspar)  who,  unfortunately,  was  always 
meddling  with  his  affairs,  wanted  to  sell  them  to  a  Leipsic   publisher. 


The  Pianoforte  Sonatas,  Op.  31 


367 


There  were  frequent  exchanges  of  words  between  the  brothers  on  this 
account  because  Beethoven  having  given  his  word  wanted  to  keep  it.  When 
the  sonatas  (the  first  two)  were  about  to  be  sent  away  Beethoven  was  H  ving 
in  Heihgenstadt.  During  a  promenade  new  quarrels  arose  between  the 
brothers  and  finally  they  came  to  blows.  The  next  day  he  gave  me 
the  sonatas  to  send  straight  to  Zurich,  and  a  letter  to  his  brother 
enclosed  in  another  to  Stephan  von  Breuning  who  was  to  read  it.  A 
prettier  lesson  could  scarcely  have  been  read  by  anybody  with  a  good 
heart  than  Beethoven  read  his  brother  on  the  subject  of  his  conduct 
on  the  day  before.  He  first  pointed  it  out  in  its  true  and  contemptible 
character,  then  he  forgave  hira  everything,  but  predicted  a  bad  future 
for  hira  unless  he  mended  his  ways.  The  letter,  too,  which  he  had  written 
to  Breuning  was  very  beautiful. 

The  first  two  Sonatas  (G  major  and  D  minor)  appeared  in 
the  spring  of  1803,  as  Op.  20,  in  Niigeli's  "Repertoire  des  Claveci- 
nistes"  as  Cahier  5  (the  third  followed  soon  after  as  Op.  33,  together 
with  the  "Sonate  pathetique"  as  Cahier  11).  Of  Cahier  5  Nageli 
sent  proof-sheets.     Ries  reports  on  the  subject  as  follows : 

When  the  proof-sheets  came  I  found  Beethoven  writing.  "Play 
the  Sonata  through,"  he  said  to  me,  remaining  seated  at  his  writing-desk. 
There  was  an  unusual  number  of  errors  in  the  proofs,  which  fact  already 
made  Beethoven  impatient.  At  the  end  of  the  first  Alleijro  in  the  Sonata 
in  G  major,  however,  Nageli  had  introduced  four  measures — after  the 
fourth  measure  of  the  last  hold : 


t=t 


t^^  I  :-^-M^-^ 


r=lfrr^l;A^-t^ 


Wlicn  I  played  this  Beethoven  jumped  uj)  in  a  rage,  came  running 
to  me,  half  pushed  me  away  from  the  pianoforte,  slioiiliug:  "Where  the 
devil  do  you  find  thai?"  One  can  scarcely  imagine;  his  ama/.enienL  and 
rage  when  he  saw  the  printed  notes.  I  received  the  commission  to  make 
a  record  of  all  the  errors  and  at  once  send  the  sonatas  to  Siinroek  in 
Bonn,  who  was  to  make  a  rei)rint  and  call  it  hdifion  trr.s  rorrrrfr.  In 
this  place  belong  tliree  notes  to  me: 

1.  "Be  good  enough  to  mak(r  a  note  of  tlie  errors  and  send  a 
record  of  them  at  onee  to  Simroek,  with  the  re(|nesl  that  in-  piil)lisli  us 
soon  as  possi})le — day  after  to-morrow  I  will  send  him  \]\r  sonata  and 
concerto." 

2.  "I  must  beg  yon  again  to  do  the  disagreeuble  work  of  making  a 
clear  eo|)y  of  the  errors  in  the  Z'iri'h  sonatas  ;inil  sen<ling  if  to  Sininxk; 
you  will  find  a  list  of  tin-  errors  at  my  house  in  the  Wjeden." 

3.  "DearRies! 

"Not  only  are  the  expression  marks  i)oorly  indiealed  bnt  there  are 
also  false  notes  in  several  i)laees  — therefon'  be  cureful! — or  tiie  work 
will  again  be  in  vain.     Ch'a  delto  Vamalo  bcneY" 


368  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

The  closing  words  of  the  second  note  show  that  the  matter 
was  not  brought  to  an  end  until  late  in  the  spring  of  1803,  after 
Beethoven  had  removed  into  the  theatre  buildings  An-der-Wien. 
After  the  Sonatas  became  known  in  Vienna  Dolezalek  asked 
Beethoven  if  a  certain  passage  in  the  D  minor  Sonata  was  correct. 
**Certainly  it  is  correct,"  replied  the  composer,  "but  you  are  a 
countryman  of  Krumpholz — nothing  will  go  into  that  hard 
Bohemian  head  of  yours." 

A  circumstance  related  by  Czerny,  if  accepted  as  authoritative, 
proves  that  two  of  the  three  Sonatas  were  completed  in  the  country. 
"Once  when  he  (Beethoven)  saw  a  rider  gallop  past  his  windows 
in  his  summer  sojourn  in  Heiligenstadt  near  Vienna,  the  regular 
beat  (of  the  horse's  hoofs)  gave  him  the  idea  for  the  theme  of 
the  Finale  of  the  D  minor  sonata,  Op.  31,  No.  2: 


JHle^lpy^lPi 


The  six  Variations  in  F  on  an  Original  Theme,  Op.  34,  dedicated 
to  the  Princess  Odescalchi,  were  probably  composed  immediately 
after  the  Variations  in  E-flat,  Op.  35.  In  the  midst  of  the  sketches 
for  the  latter  (in  the  Kessler  sketchbook)  two  measures  of  the 
theme  are  noted  and  the  remark  appended,  "Each  variation  in  a 
-different  key — but  alternately  passages  now  in  the  left  hand  and" 
then  almost  the  same  or  different  ones  in  the  right."  The  two 
sets  of  Variations  and  the  Quintet,  Op.  29,  were  sold  to  Breitkopf 
and  Hartel  in  October,  1802.  In  a  letter  which  the  publishers 
received  from  the  composer  on  October  18,  1802,  Beethoven 
writes : 

I  have  made  two  sets  of  Variations  of  which  the  first  may  be  said 
to  number  8,  the  second  30;  both  are  written  in  a  really  entirely  new  style^ 
and  each  in  quite  a  different  way.  I  should  very  much  like  to  have 
them  published  by  you,  but  under  the  one  condition  that  the  honorarium 
be  about  50  florins  for  the  two  sets — 'do  not  let  me  make  this  offer  in  vain, 
for  I  assure  you  you  will  never  regret  the  two  works.  Each  theme  in 
them  is  treated  independently  and  in  a  wholly  different  manner.  As 
a  rule  I  only  hear  of  it  through  others  when  I  have  new  ideas,  since  I 
never  know  it  myself;  but  this  time  I  can  assure  you  myself  that  the 
style  in  both  works  is  new  to  me. 

A  more  interesting  letter  received  by  Breitkopf  and  Hartel 
on  December  26,  1802,  relates  to  the  same  subject.  It  demands 
insertion  in  full: 


Characteristics  of  the  Variations  3G9 

Instead  of  the  noise  about  a  new  method  of  V(ariations)  such  as 
would  be  made  by  our  neighbors  the  Gallo-Franks,  like,  for  instance, 
a  certain  Fr.  composer  who  presents  fugues  aprcs  une  noxivcUe  Methode, 
it  consisting  in  this  that  the  fugue  is  no  fugue,  etc. — I  nevertheless  want 
to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  these  V.  differ  at  least  from  others, 
and  this  I  thought  I  could  do  in  the  most  unconstrained  and  least  con- 
spicuous manner  by  means  of  the  little  prefatory  note  which  I  beg  of 
you  to  print  in  the  small  as  well  as  the  large  V.,  leaving  it  for  you  to  say 
in  what  language  or  how  many  languages,  since  we  poor  Germans  are 
compelled  to  speak  in  all  tongues. 

Here  is  the  prefatory  note : 

Inasmuch  as  these  V.  differ  materially  from  my  earlier  ones  I  have, 
instead  of  designating  them  merely  by  number,  1,  2,  3,  etc..  included 
them  in  the  list  of  my  greater  musical  works,  and  this  also  for  the  further 
reason  that  the  themes  are  original. 

The  author. 

N.B.  If  you  find  it  necessary  to  change  or  improve  anything  you  have 
my  entire  permission. 


That  by  the  "large  variations,"  whose  number  (30)  Breitkopf 
and  Hartel  seem  to  have  called  in  question,  Beethoven  meant 
his  Op.  35,  is  made  plain  by  a  third  letter  running  as  follows: 

Vienna,  April  8,  180.S. 

I  have  wanted  to  write  to  you  for  a  long  time,  but  my  business  affairs 
are  so  many  that  they  permit  but  little  correspondence.  You  seem  to 
be  mistaken  in  your  opinion  that  there  are  not  as  many  variations  (as 
I  stated)  only  it  would  not  do  to  announce  the  number  as  there  is  no 
way  of  telling  how  in  the  large  set  three  variations  arc  run  into  each 
other  in  the  Adagio,  and  the  Fugue  can  certainly  not  be  called  .-i  variation, 
nor  the  Introduction,  which,  as  you  may  see  for  yourself.  I)egins  with 
the  bass  of  the  theme,  then  expands  to  2,  .3  and  finally  4  parts,  when  the 
theme  at  last  makes  its  a[)peararK'e,  which  again  cannot  be  call<'d  a  varia- 
tion, etc. — but  if  this  is  not  clear  to  you,  send  me  a  proof-slieet  along  wit  h 
the  manuscript  as  soon  as  a  copy  is  printed,  so  that  I  may  be  guarded 
against  confusion— you  would  do  ni(;  a  great  favor  if  you  would  omit  from 
the  large  variations  tlu;  d<'«licaLion  to  abbe  St adler  Jind  print  the  following, 
viz.:  (ledircs  etc.  A  Monsieur  Ic  Comic  Maurice  Lichtiowskti:  he  is  a 
brother  of  Prince  Lichnowsky  anfl  only  recently  did  ine  an  unexpected 
favor,  and  I  hav(;  no  oIIkt  opporl  iitiit y  to  pel  urn  llie  kindiie'^s,  if  yoii 
have  already  engraved  tlnr  dediealion  to  ahbe  Stadler  I  will  gladly  pay 
the  cost  of  changing  the  title-jjage,  do  not  hesitatt;,  write  what  tlie  expense 
will  he  and  I  will  pay  it  with  i)leasure,  I  earnestly  beg  you  to  <io  this 
if  you  have  not  sent  out  any  copies  -in  the  case  of  the  small  variations 
the  dedieation  to  I'rincess  Odescaldii  remains. 

I  thank  you  very  much  for  the  beautiful  things  of  Seba.stian  Bach's, 
I  will  preserve  and  sfnrly  tlie?n— should  there  be  a  contiTiualion  of  the 
pieces  .send  them  to  me  also — -if  you  have  a  good  text  for  a  cantata  or 
other  vocal  piece  .send  it  to  me. 


370  The  Life  of  Ludwig  van  Beethoven 

In  spite  of  Beethoven's  warning,  Op.  34  was  printed  without 
the  proof  having  been  read  by  him;  this  provoked  another  letter 
calling  attention  to  a  large  number  of  errors  in  the  publication, 
of  which  Beethoven  promised  to  send  a  list.  He  also  expressed 
a  fear  that  the  "large  variations"  would  also  be  faulty,  the  more 
since  his  own  manuscript  had  been  put  into  the  hands  of  the 
engraver,  and  asked  that  the  fact  that  the  theme  was  from  his 
ballet  "Prometheus"  be  indicated  on  the  title-page,  if  there  were 
still  time,  offering,  as  in  the  case  of  the  dedication,  to  pay  the  cost 
of  the  change.  Again  he  begged  to  be  permitted  to  correct  a 
proof  copy — a  request  which  was  ignored  in  this  instance,  as  it 
had  been  in  the  first.  The  result  was  a  somewhat  gentle  protest 
in  another  letter  (October,  1803),  in  which  Beethoven  offered  the 
firm  the  Variations  on  "God  save  the  King"  and  "Rule  Britannia," 
the  song  "Wachtelschlag"  and  three  Marches  for  the  Pianoforte, 
four  hands.  The  conclusion  of  the  letter,  with  its  postscript,  has 
a  double  value — as  an  exhibition  of  Beethoven's  attitude  towards 
the  criticism  of  his  day  and  as  a  contribution  to  the  debated 
question  touching  the  illicit  printing  of  some  of  his  early  composi- 
tions.    We  quote: 

Please  thank  the  editor  of  the  M.Z.  ("Musikzeitung")  for  his  kind- 
ness in  giving  place  to  the  flattering  report  of  my  oratorio  in  which 
there  is  so  much  rude  lying  about  the  prices  which  I  have  made  and  I 
am  so  infamously  treated,  which  is  I  suppose  an  evidence  of  impartiality — 
for  aught  I  care — so  long  as  this  makes  for  the  fortune  of  the  M.Z. — 
what  magnanimity  is  not  asked  of  the  true  artist,  and  not  wholly  without 
impropriety,  but  on  the  other  hand,  what  detestable  and  vulgar  attacks 
upon  us  are  permitted. 

Answer  immediately,  and  next  time  another  topic. 

As  always  your  devoted 

L.  v.  Beethoven. 

N.B.  All  the  pieces  which  I  have  offered  you  are  entirely  new — since 
unfortunately  so  many  unlucky  old  things  of  mine  have  been  sold  and 
stolen. 

It  was  through  the  printing  of  the  letters  to  Breitkopf  and 
Hartel  that  the  fact  became  known  that  Beethoven  originally  had 
intended  to  dedicate  the  Variations  in  E-flat  to  Abbe  Stadler. 
The  Rondo  in  G,  which  was  announced  by  Hoffmeister  and  Klihnel 
on  March  19,  1803,  was  published  in  connection  with  the  Rondo  in 
C  which  had  already  appeared  in  1798,  as  Op.  51,  Nos.  1  and  2.  It 
was  originally  dedicated  to  Countess  Guicciardi,  but  Beethoven 
gave  her  the  Sonata  in  C-sharp  minor  in  exchange  for  it  and  in- 
scribed the  Rondo  to  Countess  Henriette  Lichnowsky.     This  would 


Beethoven's  Estimate  of  the  Bagatelles        371 

seem  to  indicate  that  it  was  finished  before  the  Sonata,  probably  in 
1801.  Nottebohm  has  proved  in  his  study  of  the  Kessler  sketch- 
book that  the  sixth  of  the  "Bagatelles,"  in  D  major,  had  its  origin 
in  1802,  when  Beethoven  was  at  work  on  the  second  Sym])houy.^ 

^Dr.  Riemann  thinks  that  Beethoven  originally  wrote  "1802"  on  the  autograph, 
and  that  subsequently  he,  or  somebody  else,  changed  the  8  into  a  7  and  the  0  into  an 
8.  (See  the  facsimile  in  Frimmel's  "Beethovenjahrbuch"  of  1909);  yet  the  German 
Editor  finds  suggestions  of  Beethoven's  latest  style  in  the  "Bagatelles"  and  calls  attention 
to  the  fact  that  Beethoven  detected  intimations  of  No.  5  in  the  set  Op.  119  in  the  Kessler 
sketchbook.  Dr.  Riemann's  conclusion  is  thus  worded:  "If  Ries  in  his  'Notizen'  meant 
these  'Bagatelles',  he  was  surely  in  error.  Beethoven's  complaint  to  Breitkopf  and 
Hartel  in  the  letter  of  October,  1803,  'since  unfortunately  so  many  unlucky  old  things 
of  mine  have  been  sold  and  stolen,'  cannot  possibly  have  referred  to  them.  Beethoven 
himself  thought  highly  of  these  'trifles',  as  is  shown  by  his  anger  at  Peters's  depre- 
ciation of  Op.  119.  it  is  very  likely  that  Ries  meant  the  Two  Preludes  in  all  the 
Keys  (Op.  39),  which  may  have  been  surreptitiously  published." 


End  of  Volume  I 


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